Paper Dragons
by Angrybee
Summary: The life of young Rin, the girl found by Sesshoumaru. (Sess/Rin) *COMPLETED*
1. Rin In Springtime

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters depicted within the anime or manga.  
  
Edited: Jan 16, 2004.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 1: ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The Great Lord of the West reclined on an abundant heap of pillows deep within his opulent quarters. Business was done for the day, and the youkai relaxed ambivalently, looking through an old book written by one of his ancestors. The fireplace nearby roared with more than enough light to allow him to read. Of course, he could likely read in the dark if he had so wished. But no, he hadn't had the servants build that fire because he had noticed the gathering stormclouds outside. No. There would be absolutely no reason to do that.  
  
As the rain began to fall, Sesshoumaru listlessly turned the pages of his book. He was reading. Yes. That is what he was doing. Not listening to see if the rain would get worse. No, he was reading because the words of his ancestors would be useful to him in the future.   
  
The lightning began to hit all around the estate, followed by inevitable thunder. Even through his impressive pile of pillows, Sesshoumaru could feel the shake of the land. The air smelled charged as his senses perked up.  
  
A small cry came from down the hallway.  
  
Sesshoumaru had told Jakken that he kept the girl, Rin, in the room down the hall in case he would get hungry one night. Then the Great Lord of the West would not have to walk far for food. But, more and more, he found he could no longer convince -himself- of that fact. Then, he told himself that he merely liked to be able to pick up her scent. Being a powerful youkai, he liked to know where -his- things were. If he put her on the other end of the estate, she might wander out into the woods, and get herself killed. This was not an option because she belonged to him, and no one takes away the possessions of Lord Sesshoumaru.  
  
The cry became slightly louder as the rains pounded the land around the estate. Suddenly, they became muffled, as if the person crying had forcibly shoved her face in a pillow or blanket to stifle the noise.  
  
"Jakken," Sesshoumaru said tonelessly.   
  
The lesser youkai appeared from a shadow. It was amazing how useful that annoying little servant could be sometimes.  
  
"Fetch Rin," came the order. Jakken bowed quickly and headed down the hall. He returned moments later, leading the red-eyed little girl. Her hair was a mess, much of it stuck to her face from crying. Yet, the bleary-eyed girl kept her head demurely bowed. Even young Rin knew, one does not stare at Lord Sesshoumaru  
  
'I bet master will give her quite a tongue-lashing for disturbing his reading,' Jakken mused inwardly.  
  
"Jakken. You are dismissed for the evening."  
  
The toad-demon bowed deeply and left, leaving the little girl standing in the foyer of the Great Lord's personal rooms. As the door closed behind her, Rin's face bowed even further. She wished desperately to apologize, but she knew it would not be prudent to speak before her master.  
  
"Rin-pup, come," came the toneless voice. Nonetheless, Rin already felt better. He never used his nickname for her unless he was both alone -and- pleased with the state of affairs. Few people in the world could tell when Lord Sesshoumaru was pleased, possibly none besides her. He didn't ever seem to become -joyous-, exactly. He was merely pleased with things, or displeased with things. And what pleased him or displeased him could range from your tone of voice, to the sound your feet made while walking, to the smell of the plants you brought home to eat. Barely six years old, Rin already spent a good deal of her time keeping track in her head of the lists of things which pleased or displeased her master.  
  
The little girl padded into the main room, her bare feet cold on the marble floor. When she finally saw her master, she walked towards him, head lowered.  
  
Wordlessly, and without looking up from the pages of his book, he motioned towards his side laconically, as if flicking away a small insect. The small girl bit her bottom lip and crawled up onto the pile of pillows. As she did so, she could feel Lord Sesshoumaru's soft tail brush past her skin.  
  
"You will sleep here, Rin-pup."   
  
'So that I don't have to listen to your annoying crying anymore,' Sesshoumaru explained to himself inwardly.   
  
The little girl wordlessly obeyed, wrapping herself around a particularly lush red velvet pillow. She slept soon after, even though the rain continued to torment the lands around them. Lord Sesshoumaru turned the page of his book, listening to the sounds of her breathing. It was rhythmic, and rhythmic things could be calming, even to a youkai. After a while, he let his tail curl over the girl. It had been an accident, of course, but the warmth of her body suited him.  
  
On that night, Lord Sesshoumaru decided to keep the girl that he had found several months previous. Certainly, humans were lower beings, unworthy of your attention in any sort of meaningful way, and often food. But, it could not hurt to keep one as a -pet-. Possibly it could be taught useful tricks, ones that Jakken often botched and other servants should not perform, such as mending his clothes, or caring for his hair. And, if she ever became infirm or too unruly, he would put her out of her misery quickly, as any good pet-owner might do.  
  
Yes. That is exactly what he would do.  
  
In the morning, before Rin awoke, Sesshoumaru summoned Jakken once again. The toad-demon grew a bit wide-eyed at the sight of the child still laying among the pillows. What had occurred here? Perhaps his Master had beat her until she passed out and then left her there. Yes. That must be it. Strange, though, Jakken noticed he didn't smell any blood.  
  
"Take Rin to meet Reiko and Meiko this evening," the youkai lord ordered, as he stood looking out of the giant glass doors which led to one of the many gardens on his estate.  
  
Jakken, who had been in Sesshoumaru's service long enough to understand the meaning of this command, immediately stuttered in response, "Demo...master...you intend to keep..."  
  
Sesshoumaru raised one of his clawed fingers slightly to signal that his servant stop speaking. After a moment of silence, he continued, "I intend to keep it as a pet."  
  
Jakken wasn't sure he understood, but that at least put the girl's status far below even the lowliest household servant. Perhaps his master merely found it amusing to keep a human pet the way humans had kept dogs at pets. Hopefully, at least, his master wouldn't take up raising a stable of stinky humans.   
  
"As you command, master."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Rin. Do not dawdle. I've got more important things to do this evening," Jakken stated sourly.   
  
Rin hadn't meant to fall behind. She had merely never seen a house this large. The estate sprawled beyond her comprehension, so vast that she worried she might get lost. Plus, it seemed filled with beauty beyond comprehension. Every hallway, every room, had been so laviously furnished that Rin felt her eyes might explode. So large, but she hadn't really seen anyone besides Jakken-sama or Lord Sesshoumaru.   
  
"Rin is sorry, Jakken-sama." The girl broke into a run to catch up to the toad youkai.  
  
Finally, they reached a set of doors at the end of a long, dark, hallway. Jakken knocked firmly, but did not wait to be allowed inside.   
  
"Reiko! Meiko!" Jakken commanded as Rin looked around. The place seemed like a large storeroom. Trunks, bins and large jars stood everywhere, hardly organized.   
  
Suddenly, a figure appeared on top of one of the trunks. Soon after, it was accompanied by another similar figure. Rin peered at the strange creatures which resembled each other so perfectly that they must be siblings. Both stood taller than both she and Jakken, and seemed about the size of a pre-teen human. One had silver hair in a low ponytail, and black stripe markings on its face around the eyes. The other had the opposite, black hair in a high ponytail, and grey markings around its face. Both sported bushy black and grey striped tails.  
  
"Jakken-sama. What can we do for you today?" chittered the black-haired one cheerfully.   
  
Jakken put his hand on the back of the child and shoved her forward rather forcibly. "This is Rin. Lord Sesshoumaru's pet."  
  
"Ah! A new addition to the household. Excellent Jakken."  
  
As the pair of raccoon-youkai climbed down from the trunk, Jakken turned to Rin and stated, "Reiko and Meiko are Lord Sesshoumaru's chatelains. Since I assume you are too stupid to understand what that means, I will explain. They procure and care for all the things you see within this estate. Every futon, every vase, every piece of art, every candle is under their care. They make sure everything necessary to the functioning of this estate is brought here and available for Lord Sesshoumaru's use. Do you understand?"  
  
"Rin thinks she understands, Jakken-sama."  
  
"Good. Now. If you should need something, you should tell Reiko and Meiko. They will procure it for you. I stress -need-. All the accounts are approved by either Sesshoumaru-sama or myself. Frivilous requests will not be tolerated. Understand?"  
  
"Hai, Jakken-sama."  
  
"Fine. I will leave you here to become aquainted," Jakken said as he walked out the door. He had far better things to do with his time than attend to the needs of some pet.  
  
As soon as he did, Reiko and Meiko pounced towards the little girl.  
  
"Hi Rin-chan. I'm Meiko!" the silver haired one said in a bubblingly cheerful tone. "And this is my brother Reiko!"  
  
"Oooo. Sister," said the other twin, curling his hands and setting his face on top of them, "Look at her clothing. Oh no. So dirty. Lets get her a new dress!"  
  
Rin couldn't help but giggle as the two raccoon-youkai both chittered at each other in their private animalistic language, and then rain off to dive into various trunks looking for something suitable. They soon returned with a deep blue yukata with a yellow sash, as well as an orange and peach checked yukata with an olive sash.  
  
Reiko and Meiko turned out to be extremely helpful in getting Rin oriented to the estate. As they fetched a few things for her room, they cheerfully explained that the household had several other youkai servants. But, most of them were not only noctournal (that means they only come out at night, Rin) but also knew that Lord Sesshoumaru believed his servants should not only unheard, but also unseen. It was unlikely Rin would run into any of them, since she would mostly be asleep while they were about, but if she did, she should bow as deeply as possible and then leave them be.  
  
"Also, you should never go outside the estate walls. There are many fields and gardens and groves here, plenty of room to roam, but outside the walls you could get hurt or get eaten by one of Lord Sesshoumaru's many vassals!" Reiko said, holding up a small comb trimphantly, his sister's tail flicking from side to side next to him as her upper body stayed thrust into an overloaded trunk.  
  
"Rin thanks you sooooo much, Reiko-sama, Meiko-sama."  
  
"Oh sure, Rin-chan! You come back whenever you need -annnnything-."  
  
With that, Rin attempted to bow, almost spilling some of the things with which the raccoon-youkai had overloaded her arms.   
  
Finding her room again, however, wasn't quite as easy. It took her late into the evening until she finally stumbled upon the correct route by chance. Falling onto her bed, her new things scattered around her, Rin couldn't help but think how absolutely lucky she had been to find Lord Sesshoumaru.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Rin picks the flowers, la la la. Rin picks the flowers, la la la."  
  
Above, from one of the estate's room, Lord Sesshoumaru gazed out on the his lands, and of course, his pet. Over the past two years, she had grown some. An expected course of events. But, she had stayed obedient and faithful. Even when they went out to patrol his massive lands, she rarely strayed more than a few yards from his side unless ordered to do so.   
  
Would she change with age, Sesshoumaru wondered. Were she to become anything like that human girl who followed around his half-youkai brother, stubborn and loud, he would certainly be unable to keep her. That just would not be fitting, to have some spoiled human woman roaming around the estate, trying to dictate things to the youkai living there. No, as long as she understood her place, things could continue as they had.  
  
Last night had been another stormy one. No longer did he have to send Jakken to fetch Rin on such nights. The girl would pad down the hall of her own accord, and sit silently outside of his door until he commanded her to enter. A few times, he had never given the command, for he had been -far- too busy to do so. It was -not- because he wanted to see what she would do. Would she try to enter his room of her own accord? Would she plead for him to let her enter? Or would she go back to her own room and hide until the storm had passed?  
  
But, in the mornings after the rains, he would find her still there, curled up beside his door, sleeping soundly.  
  
"Rin catch the butterfly!"  
  
"Rin!" Sesshoumaru said firmly, looking down from his balcony into the garden below. "Come."  
  
The little girl found her master in his quarters, sitting at a low table. He appeared to be inspecting some metal objects on the table, knives perhaps. At his side lay an ivory comb. Rin knew this meant she was to brush his hair out.  
  
Taking her place behind her master, she began to comb his long white pools of hair softly. She took great care in every task she had been assigned, Sesshoumaru noted. In brushing his hair, she never pulled too hard and moved quickly out of the way if he moved his head or changed positions.   
  
"Rin-pup, tell me what you know of humans."  
  
Abject fear suddenly permeated Rin's scent. The girl tensed for a moment and removed the comb from the youkai's hair. Sesshoumaru wasn't particularly sure he liked this smell on Rin. Generally fear suited humans, but Rin's natural scent seemed less invasive and alarming.   
  
"Humans are bad, Sesshoumaru-sama."  
  
"But, you are a human, Rin-pup, are you also bad?"  
  
The girl had to think on this for a few moments before replying. "No. Rin knows that humans are too stupid to realize that they cause most of their own problems by making war with the youkai, by trying to take their lands or their things. Because humans are...hmm...word word word," Rin stopped for a moment trying to recall the big word Jakken had used about her that one time, "...rebellious. They don't know the right way of things. So they hurt themselves and each other and the land!"  
  
Sesshoumaru contemplated this in silence as he lifted one of the blades and lifted it to his lips, licking the dull side quickly to coat it with his scent, as someone from the modern world might lick an envelope. The knives were traditional gifts that he would send Jakken to bring to the leaders of the youkai tribes that lived within his land. If they accepted the gift, then it was understood that they accepted Sesshoumaru as the lord of the land for yet another year. Refusal of the gift meant they wished to challenge his authority. So far, in his years as Lord of the Western Lands, no one had ever refused the gift.  
  
Few people understood the full implication of being a noble youkai lord, especially not that half-wit brother of his. To rule your people, to keep the land safe and at peace, his vassals had to have faith in Lord Sesshoumaru's strength. Not only his strength as a warrior, but effectiveness as a leader and diplomat. They had to believe he would settle any problems brought before him fairly, justly. His stupid brother believed that he had wanted the Tetsusaiga merely for its power. But, this was untrue. He wished the sword so that he could use it to help his vassals. The stronger he was, the more the lands would be at peace.  
  
And Rin seemed to be the only creature who understood this concept. The humans did not allow themselves to be ruled properly, wanting greedily to usurp the lands from the older and more knowledgeable youkai. They offset the balance of the world with their willful and greedy ways, causing their own pain.   
  
Rin began to hum quietly to herself for a few moments until she realized she was being noisy. She was a remarkably cheerful pet. Even when she had been kidnapped, she seemed untraumatized by the event afterwards. When she did something that annoyed him, he rarely had to correct her more than once. She seemed quite adaptable, as well. Although she took to the outdoors and their patrols well, she also performed more tedious tasks with extreme patience and care. Perhaps she could be made even more useful to him.  
  
"Rin. Come and sit here. Hand me those sheaths one by one."  
  
"Hai! Sesshoumaru-sama."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The next morning, Sesshoumaru summoned Jakken.   
  
"Teach Rin to read."  
  
The toad-demon shifted his weight uncomfortably, but knew better than to question his master.  
  
"What is it, Jakken?"  
  
"If your Lordship allows her to read, she may get -ideas- from those books and..."  
  
Sesshoumaru looked up from his position near the fireplace. He hadn't thought of that, but he couldn't let the inferior youkai know. "If she begins to have questionable ideas, then set her straight, Jakken. She is to live here, and it would be unseemly if creatures under my command were useless layabouts who spent their entire days picking flowers. She may organize my books and scrolls. Or perhaps spend her time taking dictation, if I need. Unless -you- would prefer to do these things, Jakken?"  
  
Jakken scowled. Of course not. He much prefered being sent as an emissary to the various youkai tribes or assisting Lord Sesshoumary in managing the estate and affairs of the lands. Mere secretarial work was -far- beneath his station.  
  
"As you command, Lord Sesshoumaru."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
That same morning, Rin awoke from her slumber with a wide yawn. Today she would have yet another big adventure. Reiko had told her how flowers could be pressed between the pages of a book so they would dry and could be kept a very long time. Rin wanted desperately to try it out.  
  
The diminutive human rubbed her eyes and stumbled to her wash basin which some unseen youkai servant had refilled during the night.   
  
"Scrub scrub. Wash wash. Clean face for Rin!"  
  
Something caught the corner of Rin's eye. Yellow. Something yellow. The little girl turned and saw a bright yellow-covered book. On the front a picture of a butterfly had been painted in silky blues. Rin looked at it wide-eyed, and then noticed a piece of parchment sticking out of the side. She pulled the paper out and examined it carefully. Was it? Yes it was! It was Lord Sesshoumaru's wax mark, the same one she had seen him put on so many letters.   
  
Rin hugged the book to her chest for a long time before leafing through the pages. Every single one had a drawing of another butterfly accompanied by text. So many butterflies! She would have to find every single one.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The first few months of teaching Rin to read proved difficult. The child, Jakken observed for the millionth time, had an utterly rambunctious nature that seemed only controllable by his master. However, after Jakken revealed that it was Sesshoumaru himself that had commanded she learned to read, the tiny human took to the task with such zest that even the toad-youkai had to admit she surpassed expectations.  
  
They had fallen into a good routine. He would teach her in the mornings until she became too restless, and then he would let her outdoors. After some time, he did not even need to actively teach her any longer. Jakken would merely stop by in the late morning and ask her if she had any particular questions, which she always did.   
  
"Jakken-sama, how many trees are there?"  
  
"Jakken-sama, how is cloth made?"  
  
"Jakken-sama, why don't the stars fall down?"  
  
"Jakken-sama, what do tigers eat?"  
  
Rin favored books and scrolls about nature, and tended to shy away from any books written about humans. This seemed suitable enough to Jakken, since tedious questions about humans would be most annoying.   
  
Rin had taken, as well, to origami. Jakken highly regretted allowing her to read -that- book, since he worried constantly that she might try to cannibalize the priceless books and scrolls of Lord Sesshoumaru for her silly paper creatures. But, when the absurd child handed him a paper frog one afternoon, a smile of delight across her face, he decided that perhaps the small expense of of origami paper could be added to the household account. Besides, the task kept the girl quiet and from running around obnoxiously, and that was all that really mattered.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Time passed. Seasons changed quickly. Sesshoumaru found that he favored winter now, no, he had always favored winter. The end of the cycle of life had always intrigued him. Few creatures truly seemed to contemplate winter properly. Humans feared it as a time of hardship. Other, more enlightened, creatures saw it as a time of hibernation. But he knew it as a test, a test that would serve to re-balance the lands. Some would survive, and some would return to the cycle. It was a challenge that nature issued every year to her creatures, and Sesshoumaru never disregarded a proper challenge.  
  
Yet, these winter days passed in deep contemplation also brought a new sense of peace to the great youkai lord. He told himself that it was because wintertime settled the lands, as if the snow had a calming effect. Any creature with any sense would know that warring during winter was foolish. And since many youkai hibernated or became less active during the winter, there were less conflicts and problems to which he would need to attend personally.   
  
Lord Sesshoumaru contemplated this as he stared into fireplace. These evenings passed so pleasantly. He was pleased with the peace he had wrought from his lands with such diligent work. His father would be impressed.  
  
"Come, Rin."  
  
She had been standing outside his door for some seconds now, he noticed. This was not unusual. These winter evenings had become far too cold for her frail human body, and since her room had no place for a fire, Sesshoumaru had taken to allowing her to spend her evenings in front of his fire. Winter's challenge, nature's attempt to rob him of his pet, had been overcome.   
  
The human girl entered carrying her blanket and a few sheets of origami paper. After bowing deeply to her master, Rin took her place by the fire. Talking, she understood, would be uncalled for. Lord Sesshoumaru had been quite gracious enough to allow her the warmth of his fire. Annoying him with some trivial chatter would earn his ire, and rightfully so.  
  
Sesshoumaru, who had already been looking in the direction of the fire, regarded his pet. She was already as tall as Meiko and Reiko. With those long legs, she could easily outrun Jakken, but tended only to do so if punishment were to be doled out by his staff. In the past six years, she had grown less rambunctious, less likely to chatter nonsensically to herself, quiet...but not devious or underhandedly so.   
  
"Rin-pup, how fare your studies?"  
  
Rin looked up from from a half-folded origami creature. "They fare well, Sesshoumaru-sama. Jakken-sama has Rin reading a book about the ways of the fox youkai. Rin finds that the noble youkai of the fox know a great many clever things. Rin hopes she shall have the honor of meeting one, one day."  
  
Sesshoumaru curled his lips only slightly upward. Anyone else would likely not even noticed the faint smile which graced the stoic countenance. The girl smiled wildly in return and bent her head to continue her project.   
  
"When spring comes, this Sesshoumaru must make a great journey to the East lasting several months," the youkai pronounced, looking again at the fire.  
  
"May Rin attend Sesshoumaru-sama on his journey?"  
  
"No," came the reply. The tone was neither harsh nor regretful, merely final.   
  
For several moments, Rin looked quietly into the fire. Sesshoumaru inhaled the scent of her sadness. Like a good pet, she wished to follow her master, of course. That was all.  
  
"Then Rin shall, for the first time, not look forward to the coming of the springtime."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
On the pronounced day, Rin awoke far before the sun came up. She was unsure that she had even slept. Throughout the night, she had tossed and turned, with dreams and nightmares she believed almost forgotten. Since the time she had found Lord Sesshoumaru, she had never been away from him for more than a day or two.   
  
"This journey must be extremely dangerous," she whispered to herself. Usually, she had been allowed to accompany her master and Jakken in patrols and on short journeys. But this one must be something more. Perhaps Lord Sesshoumaru would go to fight another youkai that had challenged him. Perhaps he would have to deal with some human force. Of the two, the latter worried her more.   
  
After washing and nibbling a few nuts and a bit of dried gourd as a breakfast, Rin headed down to check on the pack animal which Lord Sesshoumaru would take with him for the journey. Afterwards, she headed back up to the estate-proper, to Jakken's quarters.  
  
"You sent for Rin this morning, Jakken-sama?"  
  
"Yes. I, too shall be travelling with his Lordship. So, you shall have to care for yourself whilst we are gone. Try not to get in too much trouble, but...should your simple mind become confused about something, Reiko and Meiko shall be available to set you straight."  
  
"Thank you, Jakken-sama. Eh...uh..." Rin put her finger to her lip in thought.  
  
"Yes, child, what is it now?"  
  
"May Rin see Sesshoumaru-sama and Jakken-sama off on their journey later? As far as the walls of the estate?"  
  
Jakken rolled his eyes. "If you simply -must-. Now, go and attend his Lordship, and assist him in any preparations he might need. And -try- not to annoy him, his mind is on the important matters which this trip concerns."  
  
"Yes," Rin said, bowing slightly, "Thank you, Jakken-sama."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sesshoumaru turned the paper dragon over in his hand as he walked. She had placed it among his things as she packed them. A dragon. He considered her gesture and found it slightly amusing. The human child wished to give -him- protection, of all things. The magical power of dragons had surely been something she had read about. But, this dragon was neither real nor did Rin possess any magic with which to enchant it. It was, simply, as it looked, a paper dragon which could afford no protection.   
  
She had followed them to the wall of the estate, silently. Sesshoumaru, again, smelled the sadness that wafted from her like the coming of autumn. At the gate, she stopped, knowing that to pass beyond without his consent would be incorrect. No goodbyes were exchanged. The youkai lord had neither looked back, nor had she called out his name, or pleaded for him to reconsider. But he was well aware that she stood at the gates long after they had passed beyond the limits of her human sight.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Spring passed languorously for Rin. The thirteen year old spent her days in the easternmost garden of the estate, near to the same gate through which Sesshoumaru and Jakken had passed to begin their journey. Since the walk back to the main house took almost a half hour, Rin would bring her lunch, or would sate her hunger with whatever fruits or berries she could find nearby. At times she would fish, or read a book she had pulled from Lord Sesshoumaru's massive library, but mostly she found herself laying in the fresh springtime grass, staring up at the clouds.  
  
Certainly, she had grown used to caring for herself, for spending time with only her own company. It was not as if those journeying had previously spent such an incredible amount of time speaking with her or playing with her in any sort of way that might imply companionship. Nonetheless, she had known that both Lord Sesshoumaru and Jakken were nearby should she wish to be in the presence of another.  
  
When the sun would dip below the horizon, Rin would gather her things and return. She spent her evenings now with the twin raccoon youkai, who seemed to enjoy her presence. Their pleasant chatter took her mind off her absent master. Sensing this, and always glad to have an extra pair of hands to assist them in their duties, Reiko and Meiko eagerly taught the human girl the intricacies of the duties of a chatelain.  
  
"See this thread here? Yes. So fine that it is almost invisible. It can be used for repairing elaborate tapestries," Reiko would explain.  
  
"These vases come from a tribe of water youkai who live far within the barren mountains to the south. The water within them is so pure that even a man dying of thirst needs only drink a few sips to replenish his body," Meiko would point out.  
  
"Oh look, Rin. These are the golden geta of a famous youkai noblewoman of Lord Sesshoumaru's ancestry. Would you like to polish them?" Reiko would ask.  
  
And it was in such a manner that time passed, the blooms on the many spring trees growing from buds to heavy flowers. The fawns of the early season found their legs and began to creep into groves alone, testing their confidence. Brisk days grew warm and heavy, and the scent of the earth turned full and heady.  
  
But, one evening after an afternoon of springtime storms, Rin did not arrive at the storeroom as the sun set. The twin youkai thought nothing of it. Perhaps she had merely become engrossed in a book and lost track of time. But as the evening continued, and Rin still did not arrive, the two chatelains became nervous.  
  
"Rin-chan would certainly send word if she were not going to come and visit this evening, don't you think, Meiko?" Reiko asked his silver-haired sister.  
  
"It really isn't like Rin-chan to cause us so much worry," Meiko conceeded.  
  
"Perhaps she has fallen from the ladder in the library and hurt her leg!"  
  
"No, no, I doubt that could be so. She has always been adept at climbing trees. Why, you know she climbs to the tops of the piles of things in here with much ease."  
  
Soon after, the two chittering youkai decided it would be best to attempt to find Rin. They searched high and low within the house, finding little to betray that the girl had recently been there. However, when Reiko stepped out into the near-courtyard, to see if perhaps Rin had gone to watch the fireflies there as she would when younger, the black-haired youkai caught the merest tendril of Rin's scent.  
  
And it spoke of pain.  
  
"Meiko, Meiko. Come quickly!"  
  
"Yes brother?"  
  
"Do you...can you smell?"  
  
The other raised her nose into the air briefly as her eyes widened. "Quickly. Let us go..."  
  
They found Rin near the eastern gate, her clothes soaked-through from the massive storm which had drenched the area earlier in the afternoon. The small prone form of Rin lay in a puddle of mud, her skin bordering on greyish, her hair tangled and stuck to her young face.  
  
Neither Reiko nor Meiko had even considered the possibility that she might stay out when a storm approached. The female youkai crouched down and put the back of her hand to the girl's neck.  
  
"Quite hot."  
  
"Ill?"  
  
"Aye. Fetch a cart so we might bring her inside. She must be taken out of these wet things immediately."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Rin," the voice said calmly. Rin broke from her reverie. That particular violet had been so fascinating that she hadn't realized she'd fallen far behind.  
  
Lord Sesshoumaru and Jakken had gone far up the path. Her little legs bolted. She ran towards them as they continued on their journey. But despite the fact that she went as fast as her legs could go, and Lord Sesshoumaru walked only at a normal gait, she could not catch up.  
  
They disappeared from her sight just as she finally worked up the courage to scream "Wait!"  
  
Lord Sesshoumaru was gone. Rin felt her insides burn as she collapsed on the wooded path in a black void of despair.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Ill?" Lord Sesshoumaru repeated as the raccoon youkai in front of him nodded nervously.  
  
"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama. A spring storm came and Rin stayed outside during it. We found her in the easternmost garden with a terrible fever, very near to death," Reiko admitted somberly.  
  
'A storm?' Sesshoumaru wondered to himself, 'Rin outside during a storm. Indeed the child is more foolish than...' His thoughts were cut off by a more pressing question:  
  
"And now?"   
  
Reiko lowered his head, as well as his eyes before answering, "As far as we can tell, she is through the worst of it, your lordship. The fever has lessened somewhat, but we are unable to persuade her to eat."  
  
With an impeccably minute nod the of the head, Lord Sesshoumaru pronounced, "You are dismissed."  
  
"Thank you, your lordship." And with that, the racoon youkai was gone.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rin awoke covered in sweat, laying on her side. A slip of a moon could be seen through the tiny window in her bedroom, casting only the palest light. Rin looked at the moon in wonder, would its pale light be guiding her traveling master even now?   
  
Rin moved one weak hand to brush away some of the hair that had become stuck to her face and then rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling beams listlessly. Perhaps in a few minutes she could gather enough strength to walk across the room and fetch herself a glass of water. That is, if she didn't fall back asleep before accomplishing this task.  
  
"You are awake," a toneless voice remarked.  
  
Rin smiled to herself. Oh, another hallucination, another dream. Carefully and with great effort, she pushed herself up on her elbows to peer into the darkness of her room.   
  
Sesshoumaru stepped out from the shadows, his flowing garments swaying softly as he headed towards the girl's bedside. Amber eyes which all but glowed in the waning moonlight peered down at Rin as if in question.  
  
"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin's dry lips whispered. Perhaps she had hallucinated him because the moon marking on his forehead resembled so closely the moon within the sky.   
  
The silver-haired man nodded slightly. Crouching beside her futon, Sesshoumaru turned his hand over. For a moment, Rin believed he might slap her, but then she felt the cool relief of the back of two of his fingers on her forehead.  
  
"Your trip went well, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin finally managed in a weak voice as his fingers lifted from her skin and returned to their usual spot clutching the tail slung over his shoulder.   
  
"That is not your concern, Rin-pup," he replied firmly, but without anger. Soon after, Rin felt a strong hand slipping underneath her, lifting her upwards into a sitting position.  
  
"You must eat," Sesshoumaru commanded, and for the first time since she awoke she noted the sweet smell which had permiated her room. Turning her head slightly, she saw the small silver tray which had been placed beside the head of the bed. On it, steam rose from a small wooden bowl.   
  
"What...is...?" Rin murmured as she struggled against heavy eyelids. 'Of course, she would not know about something so simple as soup,' Sesshoumaru thought to himself, 'Her entire life's diet has consisted only of fruits and nuts, berries and the occasional fish. The idea of cooking such strange concoctions would be as foreign to her as it is to me.'  
  
The youkai lord dipped a porcelain spoon into the bowl and brought it to Rin's lips, "It is called 'soup', Rin. It will assist you in becoming well."  
  
Trusting in her master's words, Rin sipped the thick broth that had been brought to her lips. The warmth slid down her throat and settled in her stomach. The next few minutes were spent in silence, with Sesshoumaru spooning the liquid into the girl. For once the young lord felt some small threadbare gratitude that in his youth he had known the human woman who his father took for a second wife, and had observed her human ways. Nonetheless, human remedies could not be left to chance, and Sesshoumaru had added a few magical herbs of his own to the concoction.  
  
Halfway through the bowl, Rin eyes sunk closed. Barely audible even to his youkai ears, the girl whispered, "May Rin sleep now...Sesshoumaru-sama?"  
  
"Yes. Sleep now."  
  
Once again, a firm hand behind her back, and Rin had been brought down from her sitting position. Sesshoumaru sat looking at his pet for some time, watching her rhythmic breathing as he had done so many nights ago when she first came to his estate. She was now, as she had been then, ever-loyal and obedient. But the spark of wildness, her ever-burning flame for life, that which made her -Rin- seemed so distant now. The thought of losing the creature which had from their first meeting only ever sought to be by his side cause his mind to feel heavy and his chest constricted. Some emotion heretofore unknown to the youkai lord must be attempting to make its presence known.  
  
Before it could do so and damage some part of his soul, Sesshoumaru stood and departed the room.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The next night, Rin was able to eat the entire bowl of soup. And the night after that, she fed herself. By the fourth day, she was once again strong enough to go into the courtyard and sit among her beloved flowers.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
***Look forward to the next episode! A strange youkai lord comes calling from afar with devious and dangerous intentions.. All this and more when next we meet. Remember, reviews inspire quicker updates! 


	2. The Two Swords

Note to Readers: Thank you for your delightful reviews. I'm always so very glad to see them, and they will definitely spar on more chapters. :D  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 2 ~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"A kimono, Jakken-sama?"  
  
"Hai, hai. You are to wear it when Daishirou-sama arrives. Your yukatas are far too informal, not to mention kept in such a shameful state of disrepair that..." Jakken sighed. The child really -was- quite stupid. Why bother explaining anything at all? "And geta, too. Running around barefoot simply will not do. It will not do. You will shame Lord Sesshoumaru enough by being in his household, why add to the insult by looking like some wild urchin?"  
  
Wild. She definitely did look wild. In the past three years, her legs and arms had grown as long and smooth as willow branches. Her deep mahoghany-colored hair, once thick and unruly, now flowed down past her waist like tall summer grasses swaying in the breeze. Rin had hardly thought of pulling her hair into some human style, but did at times consent to wearing a pair of enchanted ivory combs at her temples. Reiko had given them to her one day after discovering that nearby butterflies would alight on the combs for rest from flight, flexing their wings as they stole a ride on the wearer's head.  
  
And, although she had reached maidenhood, her body continued to be abnormally slight, blossoming not like a full fruit on a vine, but rather like a young flower yawning slightly at sunrise and deciding not to go the full effort of loosening its petals. Rin's frame looked as if a gust of wind might come and lift her away at any moment. Yet the healthy glow in her face told that this is the way it would be for her. Where some women grow full of sensuous curves, she had only angles.   
  
On any given day, flowers would peek over the sash of her yukata, or daisy chains would swing loosely from where she would pin them at her shoulders. She rather reminded Jakken of a wood nymph he had once spied. Except for the fact that she smelled decidedly, and disturbingly, human.  
  
Sixteen. And never worn shoes a day in her life.  
  
"Jakken-sama," the girl's soft voice called, racing behind her master's chancellor. "Rin does not understand. Many youkai have come to call upon Sesshoumaru-sama in the past, and...Rin's appearance has...never mattered."  
  
"Simpleton," Jakken replied with a huff, turning to face the lanky teenager that now towered above him in height. "That is because this youkai is -far- more important than any youkai you have ever met, save Sesshoumaru-sama, of course."  
  
Rin blinked, taking this information in. All youkai were far above her station, of course. But, when the tribal lords of Sesshoumaru's lands came, no one had ever expected her to dress or behave any differently than she already did.  
  
"Go and speak with the chatelains, I am sure if anyone can assist you in becoming slightly less unappealing, it will be they." And with that, Jakken waddled out of sight.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Your first kimono. Oh, Rin-chan, I feel positively weepy," Meiko exclaimed, throwing her arms around the taller human girl.   
  
Reiko, who was perched on top of a trunk on the other side of the room, grumbled, "Its that time of the month for her, Rin-chan. See here, she's already beaned me on the head with two candlabras and a jade chess piece." Reiko pointed at the various bruises on his head.  
  
Rin blushed slightly. Thankfully, when her "time" had come to learn about such things, Meiko had noticed by the girl's scent, and had set the Rin straight. Rather, about as straight as a raccoon-youkai can set a human who knows nothing about her own species or how they mature.  
  
"All it means is that your body will now accept mating, Rin-chan. But, do not worry, little one. We live far enough away from any humans that you don't really have to worry about a human man coming to claim you. You know, not every plant that flowers is destined to bear fruit," Meiko had said.   
  
And so, Rin had put these things mostly out of her mind, confusing as they were, but did tend to blush slightly when males brought them up. Not because she was embarassed, but because she couldn't say she exactly understood the whole thing.  
  
"Ignore him, Rin-chan," Meiko whispered to Rin as she glared at her brother, "He's just annoyed because I have such impeccable aim and he can't hit the broad side of a whale-youkai."   
  
Rin giggled as Meiko chittered. 'They make a frightening pair,' Reiko decided.   
  
"Why don't you make yourself useful, brother, and help us find a kimono for Rin-chan, eh?"  
  
"I'm not coming down off this trunk until next week," Reiko replied, crossing his arms glumly.  
  
"Suit yourself!"  
  
The two females dove through boxes and trunks, piles and sacks, and finally came up with what Meiko believed to be a suitable garment, an amber colored kimono printed with green vines, and a darker green obi. As Meiko showed Rin how to put the garment on, Rin suddenly asked, "Meiko-sama, do you know of this Daishirou-sama who is to visit?"  
  
"Hai, hai. I'm surprised he waited this long. You see, Rin-chan, Daishirou is an old badger-youkai who somehow became the lord of a small territory to the south, right outside of Lord Sesshoumaru's lands. Although he has some good warriors, he believes that when he dies, his son will be unable to hold those lands.. So, I assume he is coming here to offer his daughter, Hiroe, to be Lord Sesshoumaru's mate."  
  
Rin felt her breath catch slightly. A mate for Lord Sesshoumaru? She'd never thought about it. Certainly, if he took a mate, Rin would be expected to spend much less time by his side. Perhaps he would even send her away, if Hiroe was as averse to humans as other youkai Rin had met. Alone, again, in the human world...the frightening human world. Rin shuddered slightly.  
  
"Will Sesshoumaru-sama accept Daishirou-sama's offer, you think, Meiko-sama?" Rin asked quietly, wincing a bit as the other female tightened the obi.  
  
"It is hard to say, Rin-chan. So much politics involved. I would suppose that if Sesshoumaru-sama believes that the addition of Daishirou-sama's lands is beneficial, if the alliance will strengthen the Western Lands, then he will accept," Meiko spun the girl around, "There. Why, you look lovely, Rin-chan. Now. Lets get you into these geta."  
  
Rin shuddered once again. She was almost unsure which she feared more, the coming of Daishirou, or attempting to walk around in shoes.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Welcome to Lord Sesshoumaru's estates, Daishirou-sama," Jakken exclaimed as he executed a rather elaborate bow. "I trust your journey went well?"  
  
"Exceedingly," the aging youkai replied, drawing out the word for emphasis. "How fares your master, Jakken?"  
  
"Busy, as always. Never enough time in his Lordship's day, it seems."  
  
Daishirou stopped in his tracks and looked towards the estate. He slowly twisted his ornately carved staff between his hands as if in thought.   
  
"Is something wrong, Daishirou-sama?"  
  
The badger youkai's eyes had become slits, and his nostrils flared slightly. "I do not mean to alarm you, Jakken, but I believe there may be a human nearby."  
  
"A human?" For a moment Jakken felt alarmed. But how could a human be....? Oh. "Ah. Yes. You must mean Rin, your lordship. She's a simpleton, a slave Sesshoumaru-sama and myself aquired through our journeys."  
  
The moustached Daishirou's face suddenly registered an emotion that Jakken could not read. "Really? How exceptionally interesting. I apologize for alarming you, Jakken. We come across very few humans in Gendou."  
  
"Then you are quite lucky, Daishirou-sama, quite lucky indeed."  
  
"Yes, our people tend to see them as bad omens. And it is true that trouble does seem to follow that low species wherever it might spread."  
  
Jakken nodded as the two once again began their way towards the manor, his oily manner already intent on schmoozing the visiting lord in whatever way possible. "Ah. Impeccable logic, Daishirou-sama. Your people are quite clever, indeed!"  
  
Unbeknownst to Jakken, however, Daishirou narrowed his eyes, deep in thought. 'A human girl, is it? Indeed, this -shall- be simpler than I expected.'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sesshoumaru stood near his fireplace, gazing intently into the flames. A favorite pastime, he often wondered at the purging and purifying force of fire. Burn fast, or live locked in ice for eternity. The concept reminded him of Rin, how the spark of her life would run its course expediently. Was she, then, a purifying force of her own? As much as Sesshoumaru wanted to answer in the negative, he could not bring himself to come up with any valid reasons to do so.   
  
It was the voice of Daishirou which shook the Lord of the Western Lands from his reverie. The two statesmen had spent an evening in rather heated conversation, discussing plans, differences, possibilities, alliances. The badger-youkai sat now in an opulate oversized chair, one given to Sesshoumaru as tribute by some long-forgotten entity. Sesshoumaru himself rarely opted for chairs, their backs had a tendancy to cause a cramp in his flowing tail, plus one had to rearrange one's katanas before sitting. No. He preferred standing, leaning against a tree, or sitting at a low table.   
  
"Your lordship? Just now, you had an ever-so-distant look as you peered into the fire. May I ask your thoughts?" Daishirou began.  
  
Sesshoumaru briefly inhaled the scent of the fire before speaking, "You must truly fear for the safety of your son's ascension, Daishirou-san, to come so far to strike such a deal."  
  
"My people," Daishirou began, "The youkai of Gendou, they are a backwards and superstitious sort. They find bad omens in everything, even in my son."  
  
"I see," the stoic Sesshoumaru replied, poking at the fire a bit with a katana, one of the many tributes Dashirou had bestowed upon the inu youkai. Purifying. Purifying fire. "Tell me of Hiroe, Daishirou-san."  
  
"Ah. What is there to tell, Sesshoumaru-sama? Her beauty is legendary, her grace heavenly, her scent divine. My daughter will raise fine children for you, and is from a line of females renouned for producing many sons."  
  
Sesshoumaru's gaze turned away from the fire and onto his guest, "And beyond this?"  
  
Daishirou stumbled with his words for a moment before producing a reply, "B...b...beyond? I am not sure what your lordship means?"  
  
'Of course not,' Sesshoumaru's mind whispered, 'Because females are good for nothing beyond this. What sort of answer was I seeking? What provoked such an unusual question? This Sesshoumaru has merely spent too much time in the presence of Rin and that idiot Jakken. He has grown unused to holding intelligent conversations with perceptive youkai. Having a respectable mate would help keep my senses sharper...but...with the information I have received, this Sesshoumaru doubts Daishirou should be trusted.'  
  
"This Sesshoumaru means nothing by it. Please excuse me for this evening, Daishirou-san, other pressing matters require my attention. Should you wish Jakken to lead you to your room?"  
  
"No, no, your lordship, I recall the path. I thank you for your time, Sesshoumaru-sama."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Daishirou closed the door to the inu youkai's quarters behind him. The pungent scent of human flesh eminated quite clearly from the room down the hall. A slave? The lord of Gendou doubted it. More likely a toy of some kind. But, he would find out soon enough. Right now, arrangements would need to be made for an expedient retreat from Sesshoumaru's estate should anything go awry.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rin awoke to a jumble of noises and flashes of realizations. Being carried. Going fast. Tight grip. Hard to breathe. Hand over Rin's mouth...  
  
The world around Rin blurred past. Nighttime, hard to see. A hallway. A candelabra. A glass window. The estate, yes, she was still in Lord Sesshoumaru's manor. But, who was carrying her? The lanky teenager's heart began to race as her body squirmed a protest in her abductor's arms.  
  
"Be still."  
  
It wasn't a voice that Rin recognized. No. A gruff and scratchy voice. Rin's mind spun, she felt dizzy and ill as the warmth of her kidnapper's muscle-bound body invaded her thin frame. She couldn't even bite his hand because of the way he had it cupped against her mouth. This man knew what he was doing. A professional.   
  
Suddenly, they stopped.   
  
"Master, I've brought the human girl."  
  
Rin felt herself being thrust upwards, the rustle and snap of cloth ringing in her ears. 'So thats it,' Rin thought, 'He tied my arms and legs with my own bedsheets. How could I have slept through that?'  
  
"Excellent. Go check on our retreat. It shan't take me long to break this worthless human."  
  
A clawed hand grasped Rin underneath her chin and pulled her upwards, thrusting the fragile girl against a wall. In the deep blackness of the room, Rin tried desperately to adjust her eyes.   
  
Thick eyebrows, in fact...the man was covered with incredibly thick facial hair, just like a badger. Just like all badger youkai.  
  
"Dai.....Daishirou-sama?" Rin barely managed.  
  
"Clever deduction. Perhaps you aren't as simple as I've been told. A fact which is good for me...but unfortunate for you."   
  
"But....but why?" Rin whimpered. She hadn't meant to whimper, she had to be strong. Yes. Rin pressed her lips together. 'This has to be a misunderstanding. Attempt to remain calm. That is what Lord Sesshoumaru always says. That is what he would do. Remain calm,' Rin thought.   
  
Daishirou's strong hand tightened around her neck. Rin's head went bashing against the wall with only the slightest shove from the youkai. "Impudent human. I'll ask the questions here. Now. Tell me everything you know about Lord Sesshoumaru. Especially his weaknesses. Leave nothing out, or I will make your death even more painful than you could possibly imagine."  
  
Rin's eyes grew wide. Why? Why would he want to know about Lord Sesshoumaru's weaknesses? Didn't he come merely to offer his daughter to her master as a mate? "But...I don't know of any weak..."  
  
Rin's statement was cut off by another bash against the wall. Her head throbbed, and she could already feel a few drops of sticky blood rolling down her neck. One or two more bashes like that...  
  
"Lies!' the badger-youkai hissed.   
  
But, the torture was interrupted by a voice somewhere outside of the dark room. "Daishirou-sama?" It was Reiko, Rin realized immediately, "Daishirou-sama, are you quite alright? I heard a commotion."  
  
"REIKO!!!!" Rin screamed, her voice piercing the night air more dangerously than a katana.  
  
The next few moments occurred in a blur. Reiko burst in, and flew towards the pair, his eyes glowing with rage, his claws drawn. But, somehow, with his free hand, Daishirou had caught the attacking raccoon-youkai and had sent him sprawling backwards. Rin let out a small yelp as she heard Reiko smack against a wall-beam. The crack that his impact made left no question, Reiko would have a few broken ribs.  
  
Daishirou chuckled, his raspy laugh like sandpaper on Rin's mind. "You must really have them all fooled, human, to incite such behavior. Now. Back to our discussion. Tell me what I want to know."  
  
"But...I don't understand..."  
  
"Of course you don't, stupid human. You see...I never intended to give my daughter to Sesshoumaru as a mate. I've already promised her to Lord Hikito of Akemi Valley. Offering my daughter was only a ploy to get me here, into this manor. And now that my servant and I have raided Sesshoumaru's personal documents...and with your information...we shall have more than enough leverage and information to successfully attack the Western Lands. Surely my son's ascension to lordship will be secured if he controls such an awesome territory. So you see, little bug, your master's fate is already secured. So, you might as well go ahead and tell me everything you know..."  
  
Daishirou snarled at Rin, his sharp teeth seeming bright even in the darkness. She could feel his breath upon her face, coating her skin with its smoggy heat. What could she tell him? Even if she knew of some weakness, she would certainly rather die that betray Sesshoumaru-sama.  
  
"That would be a quite a plan, indeed," a calm voice mentioned from across the room, "...if Lord Hikito weren't one of my most loyal allies."  
  
Before Daishirou could even register this with an incredulous "Nani?", Rin had been ripped from his grasp. Almost as if to mimic the other youkai lord, Sesshoumaru now held Daishirou against the wall by his neck with one hand. Sesshoumaru's other hand(1) clutched the weakened Rin to his chest, steadying the girl whose weak legs were threatening to buckle.  
  
"Lord....Sesshoumaru?" Daishirou squeaked, while at the same time Rin was whispering the same question into the soft folds of her master's sleeve. Daishirou narrowed his eyes, "You're...too late...my servant...already escaped with...documents..."  
  
"No. Jakken has been sent to deal with him. In the future, your servant will be described using one particular word: Charbroiled." Sesshoumaru glanced down at the girl he clutched against his torso. "Rin. Can you stand?"  
  
"Y...yes..." Rin whispered as she extricated herself from her master's arm, weakly moving to stand at his side.   
  
"You are perhaps the most foolish youkai I have ever encountered. Even moreso than that witless half-brother of mine. As soon as you told your plan to Hikito, he sent word to me of your intentions. Now..." Sesshoumaru glowered, pressing Daishirou harder against the wall, "...admit that I, Sesshoumaru, am the greater youkai, and I will allow your death to be swift."  
  
"Yes," the badger-youkai moaned, "Yes, you are the greater. Anything. Please, please don't kill me Sesshoumaru-sama. I will give you anything...my daughter...my lands...anything."  
  
"A futile request. This Sesshoumaru shall take whatever he pleases, with or without your permission," Sesshoumaru pronounced as he rubbed together the fingers of his free hand. It had become coated with a thick sticky substance that he only now realized must be the blood from the back of Rin's head. Breathing in, the coppery scent of her blood flooded him, and Sesshoumaru felt as if his entire body coursed with an unknown energy.   
  
Rin watched as her master's eyes began to glow, the amber orbs quickly becoming overtaken by a terrible blood red. His free hand clenched and unclenched as a Rin held her breath. 'No, please, Sesshoumaru-sama. Don't do it! Don't...' her mind begged.  
  
The blackness flashed with light as the sound of metal scraping against metal filled the air. Sesshoumaru felt only dimly aware of the piercing shriek which had eminated from the human by his side, and which now died as once again the room became still. His sword had hit its target, and Daishirou would be dead...but, still, something was wrong...  
  
Rin clenched her eyes closed even tighter. What had she done? She hadn't even thought. It just happened...so quickly it had happened. She felt...  
  
Tenseiga pulsed in Rin's hand, as if in response.  
  
"Rin." Sesshoumaru said, finally realizing that not one, but -two- swords were plunged deep into Daishirou's chest, the width of Tenseiga's blade resting upon the dull edge of Toukijin's. Around the wound, a patch of Daishirou's skin seemed to glow an unnatural blue.  
  
"Rin...sorry...Rin...didn't want anyone to die...and...Rin tried to stop...to stop it...but...," A heavy tear feel to the ground, as Rin's bowed her head even lower to escape her master's deadly gaze.   
  
She had drawn Tenseiga in an attempt to parry his blow. In his focused fury, Sesshoumaru hadn't even noticed. But, being inexperienced and far weaker than the youkai lord, Rin's stroke had ended up sliding down the edge of Toukijin's blade, inertia carrying it forward even into Daishirou's chest.   
  
Tenseiga clattered to the floor, followed shortly by Rin, panting between sobs. Not only had she defied her master, she had very possibly helped to kill a man, when her only intention had been to do the opposite. Hot tears traced painful pathways over youthful skin. Lord Sesshoumaru had every right, every right to be furious, every right to kill her for her willful actions.   
  
But...what was...that noise? At first, it sounded a great deal like the hiss a pre-storm wind might make when blowing through a grove of trees. Then it changed, growing fuller and more insistant, like the repetitive warning of a rattlesnake.  
  
"Rin. Look at Daishirou," the cold voice commanded. Rin used the back of her hand to wipe at her tear-covered face. Although she desperately wanted to beg her master not to make her look at a dead man, she hadn't the power to attempt to defy him yet again. The maiden's face tilted upwards as she peered through the darkness at the defeated foe. Even in this dim light, she could tell, something...something was...wrong. Daishirou seemed half as bulky and muscular as he had been just a few minutes ago, and his...his tail was missing?  
  
Rin jumped to her feet to take a closer look. She had to find out if her instinct proved correct. Bravely, the slender girl leaned close to the man who had threatened her life.  
  
It was true.  
  
Daishirou had become...human.  
  
Utterly and totally human.  
  
And to top it off, he was still breathing.  
  
Rin looked from Daishirou to Sesshoumaru and back again. Her master wore perhaps the most self-satisfied smirk she had ever seen, which said a lot...since most of his looks incorporated some self-satisfied effect.  
  
"Well. Daishirou, this Sesshoumaru releases you to return to your lands. Feel free to lead your people against me. Of course, it is likely that in your state, they will lynch you before you even speak a word."  
  
With that, Sesshoumaru bashed the man's head against the wall, just for good measure, and opened his hand, allowing the treacherous ex-youkai to fall into a heap on the floor.   
  
Meiko appeared seconds later, and after Rin meekly stuttered a brief rundown of the situation, rushed to her injured brother's side.   
  
"Rin. Let us return. You can walk?"   
  
The look on Sesshoumaru's face caused the weary Rin to nod. Even if she could not walk, she would crawl, she would dig her fingernails into the marble floors and -pull- herself along. How sore her heart felt from the possibility of displeasing or disappointing Sesshoumaru-sama.   
  
They walked the labyrinthine hallways and corridors of the great estate, Rin following close behind the youkai lord whose graceful gait did not faulter, even though he was lost deep in thought. How had she done it? Certainly his pet, his Rin, could not have just wielded the awesome power of Tenseiga. How could she? *Clopclop* Not only was she completely bereft of any martial training, but she was a mere human! His Rin had never touched a sword, so how? But then, that wench who followed Inuyasha around pulled the Tetsusaiga out of his father's tomb, when neither of the brothers had been able to do so. Sesshoumaru had always written this off as some sort of fluke. *Clopclop* It seemed more likely that the two brothers had merely loosened the sword enough for Kagome to pull it out. However, after what Sesshoumaru had seen this evening, he was beginning to have his doubts.  
  
Somehow, Rin had been able to activate some unknown power within the Tenseiga, both protecting Daishirou from Toukijin's fatal blow -and- turning him into a human at the same time. Sesshoumaru could decide if he should be annoyed with his pet or proud of it.  
  
*Clopclop*  
  
And what was that infuriating noise that kept penetrating his line of thought?  
  
Sesshoumaru stopped in his tracks. He turned slowly to peer at the teenage human which followed behind him, sniffing occasionally to fend off tears. The aroma of her still-drying blood continued to cause his flesh to crawl as if an electric charge filled the air.   
  
"Rin." She stopped only a hair's breadth from running into him. She settled into place, and the sound stopped. What? She was wearing -shoes-? Rin never wore shoes. 'That must be Jakken's fault', Sesshoumaru mused. 'But why had she been wearing them -in- the manor and while asleep?' 'Because she doesn't know any better', he realized. Rin didn't even know to take off her shoes before coming inside and going to bed.  
  
"Rin, hand me those geta."  
  
"H...hai."  
  
Ever-obedient, Rin bent down and removed the awkward shoes from her feet. She held them out at arms' length, as if now worried to step too close to her master. Sesshoumaru took the geta in his off-hand with a small smirk and stepped across the hallway.   
  
A door to a hidden courtyard opened under Sesshoumaru's touch, letting the cool nighttime air flow into the corridor. The youkai lord looked momentarily over his shoulder at his pet, and then with a quirked eyebrow, tossed the geta far into the night, never to be seen again.  
  
"Arigato, Sesshoumaru-sama." Rin whispered, and her master responded with only a slight nod.   
  
"Ah...eh...Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin called softly to the man walking in front of her as they approached her room.  
  
"Yes, Rin?"  
  
"Were you...when Daishirou turned into a human...that noise...were you laughing?"  
  
Sesshoumaru made no attempt to answer this, instead, he only replied "Go to sleep now, Rin-pup."  
  
"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama."  
  
As she went into her room and pulled her door closed, thoughts of his exotic pet still haunted Sesshoumaru. Rin. For a decade now, his pet had been so faithful, and now...for the very first time, she defied him. Anger. Anger. He knew that he should be feeling more anger. But, after looking at her, after considering her actions and replaying the evening over and over in his mind, he only felt...curious.  
  
As for Rin, after she had washed the blood from her hair, she laid down and drifted off to sleep, the last thought on her mind: her master's last words. He had called her Rin-pup.  
  
It meant he was pleased.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Stay tuned for our next episode: A town festival goes awry, and Sesshoumaru undertakes a greater task than he realized!  
  
1) In this fiction, Sesshoumaru's other arm has grown back in the 10 years Rin has lived with him, however, it is far less powerful than his "good arm". 


	3. Certain Madness

To the Readers: Oh. I think I forgot to add a disclaimer to the beginning of this story. Consider it disclaimed. I do not own these characters. I am just a fan. As always, thank you all for your kind reviews. Hopefully, this chapter will answer some of the questions you may have.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 3: ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Ayaaaa. Rin-chan! Hurry up! At this rate it will be tomorrow before we even get there," Meiko said, stamping her foot impetuously.  
  
"Oh. But, this beetle is so interesting, Meiko-sama," Rin replied, looking up from where she had crouched down at the side of the road. And indeed, it was truly an interesting beetle, being a lovely iridescent blue and possessing exceedingly long legs, but that isn't what had caused Rin to hold up their trip. Quite simply, she had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach about travelling to a human town.  
  
"Feh. I know you, Rin-chan. Don't be frightened. I know most of the humans in this village, and I have known their parents, and grandparents. You don't even have to talk to anyone if you don't want. We'll get the things we need, and take them back to the estate. Trust your Meiko-sama."  
  
"Alright, Meiko-sama," Rin said as she stood up and dusted off her yukata.   
  
Rin had never travelled so far out of the estate without Lord Sesshoumaru at her side. She felt exposed, unsure of herself without her master's steadiness to lean upon. 'This would be what life would be like without him,' her mind whispered, 'A constant uncertainty about what the next moment might bring.'  
  
After some time, Rin spoke up, "How is Reiko-sama? Is he doing better?"  
  
"Ah yeah, he's a tough one, my brother. And he will heal quickly. But, he was so excited, did you know that Sesshoumaru-sama even came to visit him?"  
  
"He did?" Rin's eyes twinkled in pleasant surprise.   
  
"Yes! He said to Reiko, 'This Sesshoumaru is pleased at the actions of his servant, Reiko, for attempting to protect our household. But, in the future, perhaps you should be a bit better prepared before foolishly rushing headlong into such situations.' That is -exactly- what he said. And then Sesshoumaru-sama laid a very nice katana down by Reiko's side!"  
  
Rin touched the collar of her own yukata in an expression of shock as she whispered, "How wonderful."  
  
"Reiko thinks so. He certainly won't stop chattering on and on about how as soon as he is well, he will learn swordsmanship, and then be even more effective in fending off his sister's suitors," Meiko revealed with a scowl before adding, "As if I am not perfectly capable on my own of fending off those unworthy to be my mate."  
  
The lanky human giggled merrily at her companion's words, for the moment forgetting the village ahead. 'Sesshoumaru-sama gave Reiko a katana. And he thanked him, in his own way.' It seemed very unlike her master to do such a thing, to go out of his way to bestow such kindness on a servant. But then again, she did not personally know her master to be a cruel man. Although his words of praise were rare and sparing, he knew how and when to place them when they were required. Of course, Lord Sesshoumaru's enemies would never understand, not like Rin did. He had fought and killed many humans and many youkai, but never for selfish purposes, never for sport. He only did so out of the duty and responsibility put upon his shoulders by his lineage. Rin now felt that she had to believe this firmly, that somehow, Lord Sesshoumaru needed her to believe in him and that this had been his unspoken wish all along.  
  
'He needs Rin to believe in him,' Rin repeated in her mind, 'So that he can continue to exist on a plane far above any other youkai. It must be true. It simply must.'  
  
Rin's thoughts were interrupted by Meiko, "Thanks again, Rin-chan, for helping me out while Reiko heals. Oooh. Look!"  
  
In the valley below, the human village bustled with activity. Colorful banners were strewn across streets and bright flags hung from poles. Children danced in circles, and ran from house to house, laughing and singing. The older residents milled in the roads, speaking to each other with animated expressions beneath large round paper lanterns.   
  
"Oh! It must be a festival!" Meiko squealed.  
  
"A festival?"  
  
"Oh yes. Those humans, they've all sorts of celebrations for any number of reasons. I'd suppose they'd have to, what with the rest of their lives being filled with so much confusion and suffering," Meiko opined as the pair begun their descent into the valley, "All the better for us, though. As drunk as the shopkeepers will be, they'll unlikely be in any state to drive a hard bargain."  
  
Rin didn't really feel she understood Meiko's explanation, but followed the chatelaine nonetheless. Rin had few memories of her own regarding humanity, most of them dealing with fear and pain and sadness. But, as they entered the village, Rin noticed how exuberant her fellow humans seemed to be. She almost felt mocked, hurt that she had been denied the gift of happiness which humans -did- obviously possess. Like stingy hosts, they had waited until Rin left humanity before consuming the wine of joy.  
  
As they approached the town, several children ran past, a kite trailing high in the sky above them. A little girl broke off from the group upon seeing Meiko and ran towards the raccoon youkai.   
  
"Aie, Meiko-sama, have you come for the festival?" The girl asked. Her gaze darted from Meiko to Rin, and the girl's eyes grew wide and questioning. "Ooo, Meiko-sama, is she another of your kind? A youkai?"  
  
Meiko seemed a bit flabbergasted by the question, turning to look at Rin for a moment before answering, "No, Fujima, she is not."  
  
The child scratced her own cheek while thinking on this, "Oh. Then she must be a kami(1)!"  
  
"No, Fujima, she is a human, like you, can't you see that?"  
  
The child scowled, scrunching her face up as if this position would allow her a more perceptive view of Rin. "Doesn't look like any human -I- have ever seen, Meiko-sama." Fujima then realized she had fallen far behind her kite-flying comrades, and ran off in search of them.  
  
As the pair walked the crowded streets, Rin noticed more of the same. All around her, people whispered. "What a strange girl!" "Why, do you think she's a foreigner?" "No, I'm betting she's some sort of priestess." "I've never seen a priestess that looks like that. Something is wrong with that girl." "She can't be human, look at how tall she is, how long her limbs. It is unnatural for a woman to look like that." "Her hair seems like a flowing river of darkness. She must be enchanted." "Nay, an oni..definitely an oni..."  
  
Rin felt as if she might suffocate. The bustling people who hurried around the streets, yelling to each other, whispering about her, caused her mind to become dizzy with confusion. As Meiko inspected some linens, Rin asked, "Meiko-sama, why do they stare at Rin?"  
  
"Oh, pay no attention Rin-chan. They are often mistrustful of newcomers, that's all."  
  
"But..."  
  
"Oh, look at this cloth Rin. Very fine, no? Would make excellent bedding..."  
  
"Rin doesn't...feel so well...Meiko-sama."  
  
And with that, Rin fainted.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Oi, she's awake!"  
  
A wrinkled but smiling face swam into Rin's view. Automatically terrified of seeing anyone besides Sesshoumaru, Jakken, or the raccoon twins standing above her, Rin let out a frightened yelp. This caused the woman to stumble backwards slightly and clutch at her chest. "My goodness, child, but you've got lungs on you."  
  
"Who...." Rin began as she tried to sit up.  
  
"Don't worry Rin, this is Kasumi-san. Her husband is the local incense-maker, and they are good friends of mine," Meiko's voice said reassuringly. "I've arranged with her to let you wait here on her porch while I finish buying the things we need. You fainted, you see. Probably just too much stimulation."   
  
"Thank you, Meiko-sama," Rin replied, finally managing to push herself up. "And thank you very much, Kasumi-san."  
  
"It's not a problem at all, child. Why, I remember the first big festival I attended. Nearly knocked myself clean out when I wasn't watching and ran into a fruit stand." The old woman laughed at herself with a shake of the head, "Now, my old raccoon friend, you run along and trust Kasumi here with this bairn. And you, little Rin, why don't we get some tasty food into that belly of yours. I bet that will make you feel a whole lot better."  
  
Rin nodded, the woman's good nature drawing the natural smile from the teenager's face. 'How strange,' Rin thought, 'This human is not at all like the humans Rin has seen or remembers. She's even jovial. But then, Kasumi-san is friends with Meiko-sama, so she must be special enough to at least realize a few things about the world.'  
  
After Meiko left, Kasumi fed the girl yudofu (tofu hotpot) and rakkyo pickles. They sat together on the porch of the modest home, watching the festivities in the street beyond. Music had begun to waft through the street, as a travelling band sang songs both of inspiration and tragedy.   
  
"So, tell me Rin, have you a man in your life?" old Kasumi asked as she brushed a wrinkle from her weathered yukata.  
  
"A man? Oh, you mean like a mate?"  
  
Kasumi chuckled, the child sure had a strange way about her. It wasn't hard to believe the girl had hardly ever been among humans. "Sure. I suppose you could call it that."  
  
"No. Rin has no mate. But, then, there are no other humans where Rin lives."  
  
"That must be terrible," the old woman replied. "Say, Rin-chan, I bet you have never tried sake before, have you?"  
  
"Rin does not think so, what is it?"  
  
Kasumi chuckled lightly as she said, "Well, it is a drink that will put warmth in your heart and in your belly. Here, you should try some. It may be too strong at first, but after a few sips, you'll get the hang of it."  
  
The drink was, indeed, very strong. But, so as not to be impolite, Rin drank as instructed. The warmth of the sake slid down her throat and made the girl feel as if her whole body glowed. The entire world seemed to shine with a newness and freshness, as Rin finished her third...or was that fourth...cup.  
  
After some time, Kasumi's huband Chisato, and her two sons, Goke and Hasi, joined the ladies on the porch. Rin noticed that both the sons were much older than her, but noticed little else in between her sake-induced fit of giggles.   
  
When Rin would later recall the next few minutes, they would blur in her mind like flashes of a nightmare. She had stood, meaning to dance lightly in the yard to rid herself of some of the excess energy which now be burst from her every pore. One moment, she twirled and skipped, the next, a grip crushed each of her delicate wrists, and Rin felt herself being forced backwards between two storage rooms.  
  
"Kasumi-san?" Rin whimpered, realizing her attackers were none other than Goke and Hasi, the old woman's sons. As Rin looked towards the porch, she witnessed that Kasumi's friendly smile had disappeared, to be replaced with an empty scowl.   
  
"I told you some good would come out of befriending that stupid raccoon-youkai one day, eh anata?" Kasumi said, crossing her arms and snarling in Rin's direction. "Don't hurt her too badly there Hasi, we do eventually have to give her back, and if you break her arm, our story won't be believeable."  
  
"Right, ma." The thug lessened his grip slightly.   
  
"Kasumi...but why...why....?"  
  
The incense-maker produced a wooden bowl and a knife as his wife replied, "Stupid child. They really should have never brought you to this town. Sure, with the festival, this town looks like good times have befallen all, but the truth hides beneath those banners. The people in this town struggle every single day to have food and shelter. And my family and I are no different. Until today. You'll be able to give us something that will ensure we'll eat for a very long time."  
  
"Rin....Rin has nothing to give, Kasumi-san, no money so...if you let me go...Rin promises to help in any way she can..."   
  
"Oh, you have something to give alright. You have blood. The blood from the breast of an untouched maiden makes a powerfully magical incense, sought by nobles and priests across this land. And your blood, well...a girl raised by the youkai, that would be doubly magical, we are betting," Kasumi answered. Her husband walked towards the girl. He was a slight man, Rin noticed, who almost trembled at his own wife's words.   
  
"Meiko-sama...the others...they will find out about this, Kasumi-san," Rin reasoned, betting the humans would rather not go up against a gang of powerful youkai.   
  
"No. No they won't. See, afterwards, we'll burn out special Forgetting Incense. It is unlikely you will remember most of the afternoon. Then I will tell Meiko that you drank too much sake and slipped in the kitchen on a knife while helping me prepare dinner. You and I, we'll be great friends again, you see. Maybe you'll even come back here and give us more blood next time."  
  
Kasumi's husband, Chisato stood in front of Rin. The look in his eyes told Rin that he felt at least some compassion for the girl, but survival dictacted he indulge in the deed his wife dictated. With one swift motion, he cut away the left collar of Rin's yukata and tore downards, exposing Rin's supple breast.   
  
A single tear of humiliation ran down Rin's cheek as she whispered to the man before her, who seemed almost as frightened as she did. "Chisato-san, please. You do not need to do this."  
  
"I must," he replied. "Goki, go and find the Forgetting Incense, and some bandages, too. Hasi, hold her arms behind her back."  
  
"No....no....don't...."  
  
Rin was almost sure she heard the man utter an apology as his sharp knife bit into her flesh, tearing a gash into the underside of her breast. But the pain of the cut didn't hurt nearly as bad as the pain in her heart. Fooled again. Fooled into thinking that humans might be anything besides savage creatures bent on hurting one another for any advantage they might gain, for any reason and at any time.   
  
Blood flowed into the wooden bowl.  
  
For once, Rin felt, rather than sadness, a rising fury. Perhaps the sake had forced some long pent-up aggression out of a cage deep within Rin. Perhaps a trapped creature can always tap into some hidden reserve of strength. But, at that moment, Rin screamed a way cry that startled even herself, and quite certainly startled Hasi, the man holding her wrists. It startled him enough that his grip on one wrist loosened enough for Rin to twist free, swing around, and kick the man where...instinctively...all females know to kick a man. Directly in his crotch.  
  
With one son off looking for bandages, one cradling his rather sensitive bits, and a husband trying to steady a bowl of blood that had been upset in Rin's escape, Kasumi stood no chance of recapturing Rin alone. In a flash, the youkai-raised human had jumped the gate of the incense-maker's house and ran madly down the street, her strong teenage legs propelling her forward. Rin clutched the torn flap of her yukata as she sprinted through the streets, the sake and the loss of blood causing each face, each building, she passed to seem monstrous. Every human had suddenly become the undead, screaming, snarling, gnashing at the girl who ran past in terror.   
  
Rin ran and ran, and when she reached the edge of town, she ran some more. 'The estate must not be too far,' Rin reasoned, 'It took us only an hour or two to walk here, and I have been running...running so long.'  
  
Finally, Rin could run no more. Both the sake and her wound required sleep. Her leg muscles pulsed and ached. Surely she could sleep now and walk the rest of the way after sundown. Or perhaps Meiko would come by on her way back to the estate.  
  
With her last bit of strength, Rin climbed the largest tree she could find. As she fell asleep, Rin wondered if she would ever feel safe among her own kind, if she would ever find joy in being human.  
  
Unfortunately for Rin, the human girl hadn't noticed that she had run from the village in exactly the -opposite- direction of Lord Sesshoumaru's estate.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Meiko ran as fast as her raccoon speed would take her, and then ran even faster. The forest became a haze around her as her speed increased. Something was wrong. Something about the story that Kasumi had told her was wrong. But, what could she do? If she attacked the woman and beat the truth out of her, the rest of the human population of the village would likely turn on Meiko. And she and her brother had toiled so hard for so many years to establish a working-relationship with the people.   
  
Meiko hadn't found Rin anywhere along the road back to the estate. And now, she hoped desperately that she would find Rin inside the estate's confines, even though she knew instinctively that she would have no such luck. If Rin had passed this way back to Lord Sesshoumaru's estate, Meiko should have been able to pick up her scent.  
  
When she finally arrived at the mansion, Meiko ran from room to room, desperately dearching for some trace of her Rin-chan. Finally, she came to the last, and largest room.  
  
"Sesshoumaru-sama! Sesshoumaru-sama, are you in there?"  
  
The door opened in answer, and the Great Lord of the Western Lands looked more than a little perturbed to be disturbed during his evening contemplations. Meiko noticed that his strong claws dug into the wood of the door, splintering it slightly, as he waited for her to state her business.  
  
"My apologies, your lordship, for disturbing you. Might I inquire if Rin is...in there with you?"  
  
"She is not," came the cool-toned reply.  
  
"It's just...you see...she's gone missing!" Meiko blurted. As his chatelaine related the entire story, Sesshoumaru's face gazed forward impassively. The more Meiko told, the more unexpressive her master's visage became. Finally, when she finished, she bowed her head slightly, waiting for reprimand at losing her master's favorite pet.  
  
Instead she heard the dispassionate reply, "Indeed. This Sesshoumaru suggests you continue looking for what you lost."  
  
As Sesshoumaru stepped away from the door and returned, ostensibly, to his evening duties, Meiko noticed that the marble floor of the hallway had become littered with fist-sized chunks of the door. She'd been so focused on her master's face that she hadn't realized that his claws had been contracting against the fragile wooden door, tearing it to pieces.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rin. Rin. Rin. The name pounded in Sesshoumaru's head with every step, with every breath. 'Why does she cause such effects on this Sesshoumaru?' he pondered as the forest flew past. 'What trickster god is laughing at this entire situation? But, I...for some reason I must not lose her. No. She is merely a pet. I've merely grown accustomed to having her nearby, and am a creature of habit. That is all. If only I could still convince myself of that. Perhaps madness has me. Perhaps I went mad on that night, that night that Daishirou came to call. Or, no, maybe it is Tenseiga. Maybe whatever Rin did with the sword has had an effect on this Sesshoumaru as well.'  
  
These torments continued as the Great Lord of the Western Lands found himself outside of a human village only minutes after leaving his own estate. He should have never let them settle so nearby, he concluded, he should have destroyed the town and its inhabitants long ago, when they first began to gather there. Why didn't he? Sesshoumaru tried to rack his mind for an answer, but finally gave up, shaken from his reverie by the unmistakable smell of Rin's blood.  
  
Sesshoumaru felt as if the same jade-colored poison that he oft used upon his enemies now gnawed at his own innards. Rage boiled in his mind, causing his golden eyes to become crimson. He had to find her, and any being that stood in his way would most definitely find itself in a private apocalypse.  
  
How? How had she done this to him? Even Inuyasha could not raise Sesshoumaru's ire to such levels. That thought, too, added to the fury that fueled his search. No human should be allowed to have so much control over the Great Lord of the Western Lands. He would kill her. That had to be the only solution. He had to kill Rin to stop this madness from continuing.  
  
Every time she was hurt, every time she was lost or in trouble, he found himself a little less able to hide the fact that he couldn't stand losing her, a little less able to keep the all-important control over his actions and emotions. The very thought sickened him, he felt ill at his own weakness. He had to prove his strength, if not to the world, then to himself. He must kill her. He must.  
  
Forest creatures scattered. Trees and obstacles all but literally melted from the great youkai's path. The smell, the smell of her blood. It tore through his mind more powerfully than a katana, ripping at his sanity.  
  
He found her, finally, miles from the village. At first, Sesshoumaru saw only Rin's pale arm, an arm that hung limply from a tree above a pool of stagnant blood. Dried rivulets of blood encircled her arm like vines.   
  
Sesshoumaru easily jumped to the branch above Rin's, looking down at the girl to assess the situation. What he found drove him even farther from his desired state of detachedness. The teenager's yukata had been ripped open, exposing a breast from which blood now flowed freely, soaking her yellow yukata. Even from his distance, he could smell the alcohol on Rin's shallow breath, and the faint odor of a human male still lingered as well. Tiny cuts riddled Rin's face and clothing, from briars and bushes, from escaping and climbing.  
  
Someone would pay. Someone would pay in blood.   
  
Sesshoumaru's claws pressed into his hand, drawing his own blood from his palm. He had to focus. He had...to remain...in control. He, Sesshoumaru, great youkai lord of the Western Lands, was -always- in control. Even when Daishirou had attacked, he had known. He had been prepared to do battle. He had controlled the lesser youkai's actions and had outsmarted him. When Rin was ill, he had been able to make her better. But this...this had happened...outside of his control. She had been hurt, and he hadn't been there to stop it.   
  
And at the moment of that realization, something inside Sesshoumaru broke.  
  
He let out a cry that caused every noise in the forest to become still in fear. Every bird. Every cricket. Every blade of grass froze as Sesshoumaru's yell echoed throughout the land, coating the forest with his horror.  
  
"Ses...shou...maru...sama..." Rin whispered, her eyes still closed. Her bottom lip quivered with pain as she attempted to lift her arm in his direction.   
  
She'd lost so much blood, he noticed, the wound exacerbated by her running. No doubt the sake, as well, had played its part in thinning her blood and quickening her heartbeat. As he scooped her from her branch and jumped gently down to the forest floor below, Sesshoumaru felt Rin's warm breath brush past the hairs on his neck, the coolness of her blood-drained cheek against the side of his face.   
  
He couldn't carry her back to the estate. The trip would be too jolting, and in his own state he doubted he would be able to make it less harsh. He'd have to dress her wounds here and let her rest until morning.   
  
'Or you could kill her. Kill her now and be done with her. Be done with this madness. Control everything, as it should be,' Sesshoumaru's mind commanded as he tore the left sleeve off of his garments and began to bind Rin's wound.  
  
'It would be so easy to kill her now. You wouldn't even have to look at her eyes, those eyes which seem to know everything about you. Those terrible bright eyes that see through every wall you put up. You could escape wordlessly, soundlessly, escape the weakness that you -know- she will inflict upon your psyche if you let her live one more day, one more hour.'  
  
"This Sesshoumaru will not..." he began, realizing his inner turmoil had finally brought him to speaking to himself.   
  
'You are weak, Sesshoumaru. Weak as that hanyou brother of yours. What is wrong? Can't you kill a simple human? Can't you put down this pet of yours, like you always said you could? This weakness will permeate your soul. Every youkai will sense it soon. They will sense your doubt, your feelings for this girl, if you can not control yourself. And this night has shown, where Rin is concerned, you can not control yourself. Kill her.'  
  
"This Sesshoumaru can not....can not..." he murmured in reply to himself. He let one claw gently slide across Rin's forehead and over her right temple, pushing errant strands of hair behind her ear. A tiny sigh escaped Rin's parted lips.   
  
And, in her sleep she murmured, "Sesshou...maru...sama...Rin believes...I believe...in you..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A stoic forest and ancient stars played the only witnesses to the scene of that night, when a powerful youkai lord lay against a mighty oak tree, cradling a slender human teenager in his arms. His feral eyes glowed brighter than fireflies, piercing the darkness as keenly as a hawk, a warning to any that might come near. And if trees and stars could talk, they would tell you that as the moonlight burst from the clouds, illuminating the grove in a bluish glow, the youkai lord buried his face in the human's hair and...quite audibly....sighed.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
There is a legend in a small village somewhere in the west, that upon one holy festival day, an incense maker, his wife, and his two sons tried to steal something that belonged to a youkai lord. The very next day, they awoke to find their house and massive stores of incense ablaze. Although all four of the family members escaped the fire with their lives, the many incenses which burned with the house were forever absorbed into their skin. It seems that somehow, these myriad incenses (when mixed and burned with a certain rare jade-colored poison) produced a stink that rivaled even the most pungent skunk.   
  
And no matter how much they washed or scrubbed, that particular smell clung to their skin for the rest of their lives.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"You sent for Rin, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin chirped gaily as she entered her master's private quarters. He stood motionless, as he often did in the morning, gazing from his window across the lands he claimed by birthright.   
  
Rin had been up for some time already, clipping flowers in the garden to set in vases around the mansion. She'd gotten quite good at flower arrangement, and rarely left a decorative container unmolested. Morning flowers were best for clipping, she knew it would be best to gather them before they had wasted all their energy on the midday sun.   
  
"Hai," the answer came after some time. "Your wound, it is healed now?"  
  
"Oh, oh yes, Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin replied, "Thank you for inquiring."  
  
Rin remembered little of that evening two weeks previous. She had run from Kasumi's house, run madly through the streets and through the forests. The next thing she remembered, she awoke to find Lord Sesshoumaru carrying her up the many steps to the manor. He didn't come to visit her while she healed, but Meiko did come by and give her quite an earful of a lecture about the dangers of sake.  
  
"There is a wakizashi on the table to your left. Pick it up."  
  
Rin did as commanded, without questioning the reasoning. Certainly, all would be made clear in good time.   
  
"Unsheath it."  
  
Rin did so. She wasn't quite sure how to hold the drawn short sword, so she pointed it downwards. Less likely to hurt someone that way. Sesshoumaru turned to face Rin, and she noticed that his own sword, Toukijin, was drawn. A myriad of scenarios ran through the young woman's head, none of them containing sense.   
  
"Defend yourself."  
  
Rin's eyes grew wide at these words. She must have heard incorrectly. No. No. Lord Sesshoumaru was definitely coming towards her. Rin shrieked and dropped the wakizashi, which barely missed stabbing her in the foot. He hands flew to her face, instinctively covering her eyes. Any moment now. Any moment now she would feel the blow. Pain. It should feel something like when Kasumi's husband cut her, she figured, only deeper, more penetrating.   
  
But, the only thing she felt was a sharp sting on her right ear, as if she'd been bitten by a bloodthirsty bug. Slowly removing her hands from her face, she found she stood very close to Lord Sesshoumaru. His good arm held the sword Toukijin at her temple, and its fine edge had nicked her ear.   
  
Impassive golden eyes stared into her own. He stood silently for what seemed an eternity to Rin, scrutinizing her face.  
  
'Why isn't she afraid? She should be afraid. Fear will motivate her. If I smelled fear on her, then I could relax somewhat,' Sesshoumaru thought.  
  
"If you do not wish to be a victim your entire life, Rin, you should learn to defend yourself."  
  
"If that would please you, Sesshoumaru-sama, that is what Rin shall do!" the young woman said with a genuine smile.  
  
'I just all but tried to kill her, and she smiles as if it were nothing. How? But, at least she will try to learn some sort of defense. Maybe, maybe if she learns to defend herself, this Sesshoumaru will have less reason to...lose...control...'   
  
Sesshoumaru sheathed Toukijin and turned away from Rin. He couldn't allow even the possibility of her noticing the struggle which raged within him. 'Nonetheless, Sesshoumaru, you know very well that there are many things from which she can not protect herself. She may be able to learn to fend off one or two humans, maybe even the very weakest of youkai. Past that, she will still be as vulnerable as a lamb. Something...must...be...done.'  
  
Rin daintily picked up the wakizashi and struggled to put it back in its sheath. At that moment, Sesshoumaru chose to speak.  
  
"When spring comes, this Sesshoumaru must make a great journey to the realm of the fox youkai lasting several months," her master pronounced.  
  
Rin felt an odd sense of deja-vu wash over her. Oh yes, he had said those words before, before he left all those years ago, before she had fallen ill. The seventeen year old searched for the proper response.   
  
"May Rin attend Sesshoumaru-sama on his journey?"  
  
For some time, the youkai remained silent. Rin wondered if she had somehow overstepped propriety without knowing.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Sesshoumaru noticed the thick scent of Rin's joy, like the perfume of cinnamon and earthy spices, permeated the air. And even though he had his back to her, he could tell that she all but leapt from her skin in happiness.   
  
"Rin has always wanted to see the lands of the noble fox youkai. Oh, thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama."  
  
Sesshoumaru merely held up his hand slightly in both acknowledgement of her words and dismissal. And with his signal, Rin ran from the room, clutching her wakizashi as she might a bouquet of flowers.  
  
"This Sesshoumaru knows, Rin, he knows," the master of the house murmured to himself after the young woman had left earshot.  
  
'And besides,' he thought, 'What would be the harm in granting one or two final wishes for Rin?'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
In our next episode: Rin and Sesshoumaru take a trip -without- Jakken. The author actually writes a chapter where Rin neither gets ill NOR attacked by anything. Sesshoumaru continues to cling to sanity! We hope you look forward to it.   
  
(1) From a relevant webpage I found: In Shinto there are eight million kami, however the number eight was also used to denote many, so lets just say their are lots of them. Every rock, animal, spring, emotion, quality and even person has a kami associated with it. The spirits of the dead are even kami. At some point it would be useful to define exactly what is a kami. There are number of possible answers to this, from the western perspective the easiest answer would be just to call them gods... 


	4. Nobility of Clouds

To the Readers: Sorry for the wait on this one. I've been working on my other stories, but that really isn't the reason it took so long. The real reason is...well...I had no idea how I could make this chapter as interesting as the last one. Well, hopefully it is good enough to keep you interested.  
  
Someone also asked why Rin always refers to herself in third person. She actually -doesn't-, always. If you look close, she refers to herself in first person only when she has something extremely important to say to Sesshoumaru. This will be further explained later in the story, likely the next chapter or the epilogue.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 4 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Why isn't Jakken-sama coming along with us on this trip, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked quietly from behind her master. He knew the question had probably been troubling her for the last few hours, and that she had been working up the nerve to ask it.   
  
He'd been composing his answer for some time now. Sesshoumaru knew he couldn't tell Rin 'Because Jakken annoys this Sesshoumaru'. That would imply that Rin -didn't- annoy him, and he certainly couldn't give her that idea. And he couldn't tell her that he figured Jakken would either try to stop his plans or question them, because then she would want to know what his plans were. He found it mildly infuriating that he'd have to lie to Rin about something, not because he detested lying, but because he knew he was putting far too much effort into something he usually found effortless: keeping his air of detached nobility.  
  
"Because the fox youkai find Jakken detestable," Sesshoumaru replied. Well. At least it was a truthful statement. Most -everyone- found Jakken detestable, except, apparently, for Rin who had actually endeavored to save his pathetic life once.  
  
"Oh. That's too bad," Rin replied sadly. "He sure does like traveling with you, Sesshoumaru-sama! So does Rin."  
  
Sesshoumaru quirked one eyebrow, an expression unseen by the girl walking behind him. "Why?"  
  
"Why does Rin like traveling with you? Oh, hm. Well, Rin never really thought about it. Because it makes Rin happy to be with Sesshoumaru-sama."   
  
Sesshoumaru merely kept walking in answer. Rin seemed placated enough by his responses, and had turned her attention to picking berries along the way, stopping every few steps to pluck another blackberry from a bush, pop it into her mouth or her basket, and then trotting along to catch up.   
  
She gasped a bit when Sesshoumaru stopped and drew his sword, looking off the path into the woods. Was there danger? "Is something wrong Sesshoumaru-sama?"  
  
"No. We must go this way."  
  
Sesshoumaru easily cut a path through the brambles using Toukijin. Rin followed behind, leaving the well-trod and well-lit path, and stepping into the darker forest. They walked until the sun hung low in the sky, threatening dusk.  
  
Rin began to hear the sounds of water. 'Must be a stream or river nearby. Maybe if we stop there, I can find a fish to have with my berries.'   
  
The darkness of the thick forest came to an end as the pair of travelers reached the edge of the water. Rin's eyes grew wide with surprise. Not only a stream, but what an incredible sight. A small cliff formed a "U" shape around a clear pool. A waterfall continually slipped down the walls of the cliff, tossing itself to and fro between time-smoothed rocks. In dry of the cliff wall, ferns and moss hung from the rocks. The low light of the sky reflected on the water, making it sparkle where the gentle ripples moved away from the falling water.  
  
"Ohhhh. Its so...." Rin had dropped her basket and just stared at the sight before her. "Its...its..."  
  
"We will camp here," Sesshoumaru replied, not looking at his overjoyed pet who hugged herself in response.   
  
He had come here as a pup when he wanted to be alone, away from his simperingly annoying stepmother and her doubly annoying son. Save for the fact that the waterfall now cut even deeper into the cliff, the place seemed exactly the same. Sometimes, he would float in the water, looking up at the clouds. Clouds, he had decided then, must be powerful entities. They could provide shelter from the harsh sun, they could gather together in strength and provide the cleansing power of rain, they could even unleash lightning and destroy the world below. But, above all, they reigned supreme above the land, untouchable by the inhabitants below. He would be a cloud, he decided then. For, one of true nobility must remove himself from the baseness of the world below, must set himself apart.  
  
But, why had he brought Rin to see this place? Their path through the woods had been completely unnecessary, and now they would have to travel several extra hours to arrive at their destination.  
  
'Because in your madness, you thought you could tell her here. You could make her understand here. Make her understand that your nobility dictates that this Sesshoumaru must not let yourself care for anyone, especially not a human girl,' his mind told him. Sesshoumaru moved his good hand from its usual place holding his tail on his shoulder and touched it to his forehead right above his eyebrow. He was rather beginning to have a headache, and for once he couldn't blame it on Jakken.   
  
For her part, Rin had already deposited her basket on a rock and set about gathering firewood. Spring had come, indeed, but the evenings still bore enough chill that she would need the fire to be comfortable, having only brought light bedding supplies.   
  
As she did so, the lanky teenager began to think of dinner. Perhaps she would take a swim beforehand. She tested the water and found it too chilly. 'The winter snows must still be melting on higher ground,' Rin decided. As for dinner, perhaps she could catch a fish. Unfortunately, she hadn't brought the little net she usually used to catch fish, and fishing with a makeshift pole took -forever-. Hmmm. Maybe she could use the wakizashi that Sesshoumaru-sama gave her as a spear.   
  
After getting the fire started, Rin noted that Sesshoumaru-sama had not taken off into the woods to hunt on his own, as he usually did on such trips. He merely sat passively, against a tree, regarding the waterfall.   
  
"Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin began, summoning her courage to speak before spoken to, "Would you like me to catch you some fish?" She didn't figure that he would, but felt it would be impolite not to ask. He'd mentioned on more than one occasion during her lifetime that he didn't care for human food, but she wasn't particularly sure what else one might eat. Sesshoumaru-sama had never, in the ten years she had known him, eaten in her presence.  
  
"Yes," Sesshoumaru replied, his gaze never leaving the majestic waterfall. He had often eaten the fish here in his youth. They had a taste he had come to enjoy in time, and he did not mind partaking in it again.  
  
Rin smiled widely at this answer. If Sesshoumaru-sama wanted fish, then fish he would have! Carefully drawing her short sword, Rin climbed over a few large rocks set into the pool below the waterfall and crouched down. The wiry girl peered into the clear pool below for her prey. How hard could it be...she wondered...to spear a fish?  
  
Sesshoumaru watched the scene with interest. What, exactly, did Rin think she was going to do with that wakizashi?   
  
The first time Rin tried to spear a fish, she splashed herself horribly, and spent the next few minutes wringing water out of the hem of her yukata. The second time, the water hit her in the face and she spent quite a bit of time sputtering and coughing it out. Still, she hunched over, looking as if she were going to give spearing yet another try.  
  
It was then that Rin heard the most amazing noise: a deep, low chuckle. The noise seemed to rip through her flesh and wind itself around her spine, and she found herself shivering, not in fear, but in absolute delight.   
  
This was it. This was truely Sesshoumaru-sama's laugh. A laugh of pleasure rather of conquest. A laugh altogether different than the one she had heard when he discovered Daishirou had turned into a human. Wonderment flooded through Rin, and she had to force herself to breathe. His laugh intoxicated her, his joy amplified her own. She knew that now she had heard it, she would want to hear it again. And again.  
  
Suddenly, Rin realized she could see not one, but two reflections in the water. Sesshoumaru-sama stood on a rock a mere foot away from the one upon which she perched. Rin looked up from her crouched position to find her master peering at her, amusement tugging at his lips.   
  
"You never give up, do you Rin?" Sesshoumaru asked, extending his hand towards her, as if to help her stand.  
  
Rin took the offered and hand pulled herself up. As she did she pursed her lips at the apparently useless wakizashi and slid it back into its sheath, "No. Rin does not, Sesshoumaru-sama."  
  
She never did give up, he realized. Even when her legs were far too short, she still followed him all over creation. Even when he left her, she spent every waking moment waiting for him to return. She never gave up. 'Oh Rin, if only you would give up on this Sesshoumaru, then I could see you as the weak human you are.'  
  
"You'll never catch any fish that way, Rin," Sesshoumaru said, as if to change the subject from his own troubled mind.  
  
"Rin forgot her net," Rin replied mournfully, tugging at the wakizashi. Flowers were so much easier to secure in your yukata sash. This thing poked her in the hip, maybe she'd just carry it in her basket the rest of the trip.  
  
"Is that so?" And with that question, the Great Lord of the Western Lands went down on one knee and gazed into the water below. After a few moments, Sesshoumaru's arm darted into the water almost quicker than her eye could perceive, and pulled out a sizeable fish.   
  
Rin gasped in amazement as Sesshoumaru tossed the fish over his shoulder and onto shore.  
  
"Now you will try."  
  
Rin looked a bit doubtful, but decided the proposition sounded fun. Besides, if she could learn to do this, she wouldn't need her net anymore. To her surprise, Sesshoumaru stood and stepped from his rock to the larger rock upon which she had been perched.  
  
He put his hand on her shoulder to steady her as she crouched down on one knee, mimicking what she had seen him do moments earlier. Rin gazed into the pool, looking for the silver flashes that would indicate a fish below. Suddenly, she felt Lord Sesshoumaru lean forward and grab her hand. Rin's felt her heartbeat speed up, though she couldn't exactly determine if the cause. Was she worried that Lord Sesshoumaru might be angry? No. He didn't seem to get angry with her. Reprimand came only in the form of being told not to do something again. So why was her heart pounding so hard?  
  
"You must form your hand like this," Sesshoumaru explained, molding Rin's hand with his own. "Then you must strike for where the fish -will- be, not where the fish is."  
  
Rin only nodded in reply and set about to accomplish this task. On the first try, she missed miserably, but by the fifth, she had caught a moderate sized fish of her own. After tossing the flopping creature onto shore, Rin hopped gleefully from rock to rock until she stood upon the bank.  
  
"Yes," Sesshoumaru intoned, replying to nothing in particular, "I, Sesshoumaru, knew you would remember this skill."  
  
Rin looked confused at this statement, picking up her fish and skewering it on a stick in preparation for cooking. "Remember, Sesshoumaru-sama?"  
  
"Yes." Sesshoumaru gracefully stepped from stone to stone until he, too, stood on the bank. Picking up his own fish before Rin could skewer it and attempt to -cook- the thing, he continued in what Rin decided was a -thoughtful- tone. "You brought this Sesshoumaru a fish once."  
  
"Rin did? How odd." The lanky youth attempted to rack her brains to recall this event, but found nothing in her memories that matched.   
  
How could she not remember? It seemed like yesterday that the girl had toddled up to him in the forest, a leaf piled with human food in her hands. But, Sesshoumaru supposed, she had been so young then, and perhaps her human mind could, indeed, only hold so much information.   
  
"You brought this Sesshoumaru food. Then you started following." He purposefully left out the parts about the fact that he was injured, and that she had all but died. First, being injured was undignified and a sign of weakness. Second, bringing up her mortality seemed distasteful. And since he currently did not want to think about Rin being dead again, lest his mind start spurting something frustrating, he left it out.  
  
"Rin remembers..." Rin pushed her long black hair out of the way as she sat down and leaned forward to cook her fish. "Rin remembers it being cold, and then it being warm. Being afraid, and then being safe. Many people yelling, and then only Jakken yelling." A mirthful laugh accompanied the last part, the mere thought of Jakken bringing Rin mischievous glee.  
  
Sesshoumaru, for his part, picked up the still-struggling fish and bit into it, savoring the creature's adrenaline. After a few moments, he noticed that Rin was...well...staring at him.  
  
"Yes Rin?"  
  
It took the young woman several moments before she answered. Instead, she sat in front of the rock, blinking silently, as if she had just seen Jakken declare himself the Lord of the Seas. And then, appearing slightly horrified at the fact that she had been -staring- at her master, Rin looked down at her lap and said quietly, "Rin apologizes, Sesshoumaru-sama, but...its just that...Rin has never seen you eat."  
  
"By now, you are well aware of the eating habits of youkai, Rin."  
  
Rin only nodded and continued to eat in silence. It still didn't explain why he had chosen to eat the fish, but Rin figured her master had his reasons.   
  
By the time she had finished eating and laid out her sleeping things, darkness had descended on the camp. Rin lay, close to the fire, on her back watching the stars. She had decided long ago that stars were the spirit of ancient glowing butterflies that had fluttered too high into the sky and become stuck. And, if you saw a shooting star, that meant one of the butterflies had wiggled free, escaping the night sky's clutches.  
  
"Sesshoumaru-sama?"  
  
"Yes Rin?" Her master had returned to his spot against the tree, and seemed to be regarding the fire which lay between them.  
  
"I like it when you laugh."  
  
Sesshoumaru said nothing to this, as Rin had expected, merely moved his gaze from the fire to an indeterminate point somewhere over the waterfall.   
  
Rin turned over on her stomach, and went to sleep.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rin awoke to find the fire had died to coals and embers in the night, and that she had grown chilly. The young woman sat up, intending to find a stick with which to poke at the fire. Usually, she knew, Lord Sesshoumaru would occasionally toss another stick or two on the fire during the evening, as he rarely slept. She'd never mentioned that she had figured out he kept the fire going during the evenings of their journeys, but had merely been thankful that he would see fit to do so for her. Certainly -he- didn't need the warmth, at any rate.  
  
Rin groggily looked around the campsite for her master. He had been sitting against that tree, but now that spot stood empty. Perhaps he had gone to hunt, or to patrol, both things which she realized her master did during the night. But, without Jakken or the beast Ahun nearby, Rin felt afraid.   
  
She stood up quickly, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. The gentle sound of the waterfall assisted little in calming her frightened state. Where could he be?   
  
Suddenly, Rin caught a flash of silver from the direction of the pool. A jumping fish? Rin turned and attempted to focus.  
  
In the pool, against the cliff, Rin spotted her master. Silvery white hair floated in the water around his naked shoulders like tendrils of liquid metal. Below the surface, Lord Sesshoumaru's massive tail floated languidly, curving around his body as the gentle currents of the pond pushed the fur to and fro. The swimming youkai had placed one of his arms on a nearby black rock, and his clawed fingers hung limply downwards, curled slightly in relaxation.   
  
And his eyes, his glowing amber eyes pierced the darkness as he stared back at Rin.  
  
For several moments, Rin felt trapped, caught in his gaze, unable to breathe or move. She wondered if this is how his prey felt, the moment before they died, fully coming to understand the majesty of the being who stood before them. Rin could not tell if seconds or hours passed as the human and the youkai stared at one another. Time had crystallized around her as if the world itself had become stuck.  
  
Sesshoumaru regarded the young woman on the shore. The dim glow of the fire's coals played over her face, casting her visage first in hues of orange and yellow, and then retreating until her skin only reflected the heavy moonlight above. Her long black hair, wild from her sleep, tumbled gently around her shoulders and face. Wisps of hair caught by the breeze flickered across her face. Loose at the top from her slumber, her yukata revealed the delicate angles of Rin's neck and collarbone, structures so simple, yet elegant in design they reminded him of glass.  
  
Caught by Rin's gaze, Sesshoumaru felt unable to move. Her honey-hued eyes seemed ablaze in with the reflection of the dying fire. A surge of energy crawled beneath his skin, as if his blood now contained a quickening slurry of melting ice. He felt certain that her gaze had plunged into his mind, seeking his madness out among the darker corners of his thoughts, and ripped it from his head with one molten movement. In its wake, she left a gap in his mind, one that would only be filled by her melodic voice.   
  
"Rin. Did you want something of this Sesshoumaru?"  
  
"No. I...." Rin finally turned away, her gaze falling on the fire. She muttered meekly, "It was cold and Rin...Rin thought you had left."  
  
"This Sesshoumaru will not leave until morning. Go back to sleep, Rin."  
  
"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin replied, laying back down on the ground, and wondering if she would ever get that sight out of her mind.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
That morning had passed like many other mornings journeying in the Western Lands. Rin had awakened to her master standing nearby, gazing impassively into the distance. Wordlessly, she set about clearing the campsite and then removed herself downstream a bit to clean herself in the chilly waters of the brook, and change into her traveling attire.   
  
If anything, Rin knew, Lord Sesshoumaru was a patient master, except, perhaps when it came to Jakken. She knew that, had she not been along on this journey, Lord Sesshoumaru's business would have been concluded in half the time, perhaps even quicker. So, Rin felt no need to try his patience by making him wait any longer than necessary.  
  
Nonetheless, the events of the previous night preyed heavily on her mind. She couldn't decide if Lord Sesshoumaru actually -had- been acting strangely these past few days, or if she had merely perceived a difference because of her joy at being allowed to accompany him on this trip. Certainly, she had never heard him laugh, or seen him eat, but something seemed wrong even beyond those superficial things. And since she couldn't put her finger on it, how was she to ask Sesshoumaru-sama about it? A simple, "Is anything wrong, Sesshoumaru-sama?" would likely only get a one word response to the negative.   
  
Perhaps if she were a youkai, she would understand. Maybe that would be her answer. If she could find a way to ask one of the fox youkai she would meet, they might have a way to shed some light on the subject. Rin wished desperately that Meiko or Reiko hadn't been needed at the estate and could have traveled for once.   
  
Sesshoumaru turned around right as Rin finished gathering her things. How her master always knew the exact moment she would be ready to leave, Rin was unsure. Wordlessly, he began back down the path from which they arrived.  
  
They walked well into the afternoon, and Rin found herself finally able to lose herself in her thoughts as she watched some nearby butterflies play upon a field of flowers.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Tell Rin again the story of the Dagger Butterflies, Jakken-sama! Tell Rin again!"  
  
The toad youkai sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. How could this impossible child listen to the same story every night? "If I tell you, will you go to sleep and quit pestering me?"  
  
"Hai!!"  
  
"Alright. There was a time when the Kingdom of Butterflies were feared among the creatures of the land. The Butterflies had many special powers, but the most feared of all the butterflies were the Silver Dagger Butterflies, who had wings like blades and who could fly into the heart of a person and from there find out the true nature of that person. And if they found that the heart of that person had rot or decay, because of a disease in their virtues, the Silver Dagger Butterfly would flap their wings and shred the heart to bits."  
  
Jakken peered across the campfire at the little girl to see if she had already fallen asleep. She stared back at him, waiting for the rest of the story.  
  
"Anyway. The King of the Dragons came one day to speak to the Silver Dagger Butterflies. He told them that a new race had come to the land and were causing a great deal of trouble. The Dragon King needed the Silver Dagger Butterflies to go and test the hearts of these creatures, creatures known as "humans" to see if they should be allowed to stay."  
  
"So the Butterflies did as commanded by the great King, flying far to the North where the settlements of the humans lay. And, all at once, a Silver Dagger Butterfly flew into the flesh of each and every human. They tested every heart, but found not a one that could be said to be pure. So they shredded every heart into bits, slaying the human race."  
  
"But, it turned out that the blood of humans is poisonous to a Silver Dagger Butterfly. And so, each and every one of them died as well. The King of the Dragons was so moved by their loyalty and dedication, that he gave all of their kin, all of the other butterflies, every color of the rainbow to wear in honor of the memory of the Silver Dagger Butterflies."  
  
Jakken ended his story, finding it very well-told, if he did say so himself.  
  
"Jakken-sama?"  
  
"I thought you said you would go to sleep."  
  
"I will. But, Jakken-sama, why does everyone always die in your stories?" Rin turned over on her stomach and put her head in her hands, looking at the toad youkai for an explanation.  
  
"B...Because, child! That's the way things are in the world."  
  
"But, Jakken-sama, if the story is true, how come there are still humans in the world?"  
  
Jakken snorted incredulously at the girl's inability to understand a simple story, "Because humans...because..." Jakken growled slightly at his own frustration, "GO TO SLEEP, RIN."  
  
"Hai, Jakken-sama."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
They reached what Rin assumed were the lands of the fox youkai by midday. A half-dozen youthful youkai, standing much shorted than either Sesshoumaru or Rin, greeted them in the predetermined clearing, not far from the fox youkai settlement. Rin stood slightly behind her master, her head deeply bowed in respect for the tribal leaders who followed close behind the young honor guard sent to greet the Great Lord of the West.  
  
Even with her head bowed, Rin noticed that all of the fox youkai sported unruly rust-colored hair, and even more unruly bushy tails which sported white stripes in varying number and thickness according to their ranks. The group of kitsune bowed before deeply Sesshoumaru, who nodded his head respectfully in turn. Then, the group parted, and an older youkai, one with greying hair and an almost completely white tail, stepped forward from the group.  
  
"Sesshoumaru-sama, we are deeply honored by your presence."   
  
"Chakku-san, this Sesshoumaru regrets to hear of the passing of your father. He was highly valued among our court, one of our best advisors."  
  
"I thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama," the elder kitsune replied, using a forcibly formal tone, "Your participation in our ceremony shall pay great homage to his memory. We are eternally in your debt."  
  
Formal introductions apparently done, the group of honor guards moved aside, and others from the tribe began to filter in from the depths of the forests. Chakku motioned for Lord Sesshoumaru to walk with him, leading the group back to the small kitsune village.   
  
As for Rin, she followed close behind her master, but sound found that several kitsune children had surrounded her, looking up at the tall human woman with questioning eyes.  
  
"Are you a human? I never seen a human before."  
  
"I've never seen a fox youkai before," Rin replied, kneeling down.  
  
"I'm glad Sesshoumaru-sama didn't bring that other one. What was his name? Jakken or something?" a young female kitsune said, poking at Rin's hand inquisitively.  
  
"Yeah, he pushed us out of the way with sticks!"  
  
"And he didn't play. Do you play?"  
  
"Of course I will," Rin said with a smile. "My name is Rin."  
  
"That's a good name. Short and easy to remember!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rin played with the young fox youkai throughout the afternoon. They apparently liked the game hide-and-go-seek quite a bit, one of the few games Rin remembered from her human youth. Except, when a kitsune hides, Rin found, it was almost -impossible- to find them again. since they tended to disguise themselves as just about anything and everything. Throughout the afternoon, Rin kept being the object of their pranks as they would turn themselves into logs or bushes and then jump out behind her.  
  
As the sun fell, Rin and the kitsune children returned to the village, where they showed her their homes, burrows which seemed too small to fit their families, but once entered, turned out to be much larger on the inside than the outside. Another clever kitsune illusion. Rin deduced.  
  
The aforementioned ceremony took place as the moon rose. From what Rin had come to understand throughout the day, the former chief had died earlier in the year. His son, Chakku, the elder who had greeted Lord Sesshoumaru, was to become the new chief during the night's ceremonies. Although the ceremony -could- have taken place without the Lord of the Western Lands, his presence put a seal of approval on the succession of Chakku that no one could doubt, while at the same time honoring the former chief who had died defending Lord Sesshoumaru's lands.   
  
Rin watched the ceremony with interest, but only understood some of the symbolic actions, and very few of the words, which seemed to be spoken in an ancient kitsune language. She did enjoy the tribal dancers, however, and the mock battle which took place between two young warriors, which culminated in one of the using his illusory magicks (she hoped) to "burn" to death.  
  
At the end, Lord Sesshoumaru, who had been given a place of honor on the raised dais where the ceremony took place, spoke a few words in the kitsune language. From what Rin understood through her adolescent translator, Sesshoumaru had declared it his will and the will of Chakku's father that Chakku be named chief. With that, Lord Sesshoumaru cut one of his own fingers with a ceremonial knife and placed a mark on each of Chakku's cheeks and his forehead, the bloody warpaint proclaiming the youkai to be the new chief.   
  
Afterwards, the entire village broke out into a celebration. Rin danced and laughed among her new friends, grateful that the fox youkai, as a people, didn't hold a particular dislike for humans.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I can see why you travel with her, Sesshoumaru-sama. Her presence is a joy to whomever looks upon her." Chakku looked down from their spots of honor on the raised dais, watching the tall human woman dance among his people. Now that they could speak and not be heard by the entire village, Chakku had dropped his formal tone, speaking more freely, yet still respectfully, to the youkai lord who had long been an ally to his family.  
  
"Is this Sesshoumaru to understand you don't find his servant Jakken a joy to look upon?"  
  
Chakku almost choked with laughter, his rust-colored tail shaking slightly in his merriment. "No, Sesshoumaru-sama, I am afraid I do not. But she...there is something about her. She possesses none of the artifice or greed of the humans. But, I doubt other youkai will look deep enough at her to realize this."  
  
"Nor will they care, if they do," Sesshoumaru replied, turning his own gaze towards the dancing human. She laughed freely, tossing her body merrily to and fro to the drums. The light of the bonfire reminded him of the previous evening, when the dying coals of her campfire had reflected themselves so perfectly in her eyes.  
  
"Then, I am to assume you have come here for more than just the succession ceremony?" Chakku asked quietly, looking to the more powerful lord.  
  
"Yes. I've informed Jakken that the human girl will not be returning to my estate. And you, Chakku, you will provide guides for this Sesshoumaru?"  
  
"You won't need them, my Lord. The trek itself is simple enough, but no one makes the journey because that shrine has supposedly been empty for over 200 years."  
  
"And you, do you believe, as your father did, that something still lives up there?"  
  
"I don't know. Father always said the ghost of the great miko Iemitsu lived on in that place, making it dangerous for youkai to arrive unannounced," Chakku stated as he stroked his rust-colored beard thoughtfully. "But, I've been in that area, and I tell you, Lord Sesshoumaru, it reeks of a presence that smells nothing like the restless dead."  
  
Sesshoumaru looked at the kitsune chief and quirked an eyebrow.  
  
"It smells of metal. Burning metal."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rin had been following Lord Sesshoumaru, groggily, all day. She hadn't realized they were going to leave so quickly after arriving at the fox youkai village, and had danced and celebrated with the kitsune far into the early hours of the morning. Plus, they had been traveling -up- a rather steep mountain the entire time, which in no way improved the ordeal. Not that Rin saw fit to complain, she merely hoped she wouldn't fall asleep on her feet, trip on a rock, and tumble down the mountain.  
  
They didn't reach their destination until nightfall. A lonely shrine at the peak of the mountain. As they entered the premises, Rin wondered what sort of business might bring her master to such a human establishment. Especially one that seemed in a horrible state of disrepair. The gates and shrine posts seemed to have been set askew by time  
  
Lord Sesshoumaru pushed aside the gate and stepped into the shrine grounds with a rather disgusted look on his face. Human shrines were bad enough, but ones that were decaying from disuse were positively revolting. At least the place didn't stink of humans. Though, as Chakku had mentioned, he did notice the cutting scent of metal in the air.  
  
"Sesshoumaru-sama?" came Rin's voice from slightly behind him, for once in a whisper, "Something is...looking at us..."  
  
Sesshoumaru now scanned the grounds more intently, his hand already upon the more useful of his two swords in combat, Toukijin.   
  
Across the courtyard, on a pile of large arranged rocks, a humanoid creature crouched, its knees bent outward, hands in front of it, splayed outward for support. Built like a woman, the creature's long white hair seemed to move like snakes, defying gravity and swirling around in every direction regardless of the lack of wind. The thing stood, and leapt off the rock in the direction of Sesshoumaru and Rin. Coming to land about 10 yards from the pair, they could now see that the being sported obsidian-colored skin which reflected the light like a polished stone, and had eyes which lacked any color, they were completely white...like a blind person's. The creature wore only a short silk skirt and a ceremonial-looking silver belt.  
  
"Sesshoumaru," it said, crisp female tones cutting the air, "I presume."  
  
Not removing his hand from the hilt of his sword, Sesshoumaru replied, "I assume from your appearance, you are not the human miko Iemitzu?"  
  
"And this must be Rin. Mmm. Lovelier than I had imagined." The strange creature stepped forward as if to approach Rin, but the second she moved, Toukijin had been drawn and outstretched as a barrier in front of Rin. "Mmm. Keep your temper, taiyoukai. There's no need."  
  
"Answer my question. What do you know if the human miko Iemitsu? The next time this Sesshoumaru is forced to ask, it will be done with this sword sticking in your flesh."  
  
"Iemitsu is dead. Has been for almost 200 years. Which, I must say, is a long time for me to wait for you to arrive."  
  
"Then you know what this Sesshoumaru requires?"  
  
"Yes. But, I don't think I'll be giving it to you quite yet."  
  
Few things in the world annoyed Sesshoumaru more than opponents that who knew more about him than he did about them. One of those few things were opponents who played games.   
  
"Do you have a name, creature?"  
  
"You may call me Claw," it replied almost rather mirthfully.  
  
"Amusing nickname. Would you like to pick less ridiculous one before tasting Toukijin?"  
  
Rin cringed. She could hear the annoyance already beginning to creep into her master's voice. Things tended to get upsetting when Lord Sesshoumaru became annoyed. Plus, her master had already threatened Claw's life twice. In Rin's experience, a third time usually didn't occur.  
  
"Well, I am afraid, Sesshoumaru," Claw said, "The only other name I have is the one your father gave me."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
In our next chapter: What exactly is Claw, and how does she know Sesshoumaru and Rin? What IS it that Sesshoumaru has taken this journey to find? Is Sesshoumaru really going to kill Rin? Will the Jakken bashing ever stop? This and more in the exciting conclusion of Paper Dragons!  
  
Miko - priestess 


	5. Claw's Riddle

To the Readers: Some of you expressed concern that this would be the last chapter. Don't worry. Even when the story ends, I have an epilogue AND a post-story (featuring Kagome and Inuyasha) planned. Woohoo.  
  
And thank you again for all your wonderful reviews. As you can see, ff.net changed my ID from "bumblebee" to "bumblebee4" for no apparent reason. So, if I suddenly drop off any of your lists, you will know why!  
  
~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 5 ~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sesshoumaru's hand flexed around the hilt of his sword, delicate veins within his pale hands apparent even in the moonlight. He stared at the creature before him for some time, trying to ascertain not only the level of danger, but also the creature's true nature. The acrid scent of burning metal hit his senses with the force of a thrusted sword. 'What is that -thing-? It smells only so very faintly of youkai, but it could not possibly be human.'  
  
"What are you? And how do you know of this Sesshoumaru's father?" the taiyoukai asked curtly, moving slightly to the side to position his own body in front of Rin's.   
  
"Excellent questions, Sesshoumaru. And all shall be known in time. That is, all shall be known should you prove to be as sensible and noble as your father expected you would become. But first, perhaps we should provide for Rin-san's comfort whilst we talk, mmm? You've come all this way and wouldn't wish her to be needlessly harmed, I suspect."  
  
Claw grinned broadly as she made a sweeping gesture of a bow. The mirthful creature stood again and addressed Rin, who now peeked out from behind her master's white silk clad arm.   
  
"Ah Rin-san. I've tea waiting for you in the main room of the shrine. If you would be so very kind to wait there, I would be ever so grateful."  
  
Rin looked at the strange creature, and nodded, but did not move. Would this also be Lord Sesshoumaru's wish? Rin really did not wish to leave his side, but doubted she would be of much assistance, since he had no idea why they were even there.  
  
"You may go, Rin," Sesshoumaru said, his piercing gaze never leaving Claw.  
  
With Rin gone, the two inhuman creatures stood in the courtyard of the shrine, looking very much like opposites of one another. The tall Sesshoumaru stood, white garments flowing around him, silvery white hair cascading down his back, amber eyes glowing slightly in the dusk. As for Claw, she wore little clothing, and seemed a mass of stony black musculature. Her white hair brought new meaning to the word "wild" as it slithered and snaked through the air of its own accord, and her white upon white eyes seemed dead to the world.  
  
"I am glad to see you did not get mixed up in that Shikon jewel mess, Sesshoumaru. Your brother, on the other hand, well, he needs that whole affair, I think. Its going to build some character in the boy, and he certainly does need it. He's far too careless with Tetsusaiga, though. I don't approve."  
  
"I did not come here to speak of half-wits or -to- half-wits. My brother is none of my concern."  
  
"Ah yes," Claw replied, flipping backwards and landing crouched on a gatepost with unnatural ease, "You came to speak of Rin, did you not? You know, your father came here once too, a human woman at his side. In the end, Iemitsu was convinced to give him that which he requested. And, in the end, he did not take it from the miko, and do you know why, Sesshoumaru?"  
  
"Because my step-mother was unworthy," Sesshoumaru stated coldly.  
  
Claw leaned forward, her mouth forming words like knives to Sesshoumaru's ears, "No. Because he loved her."  
  
"Enough foolishness. You are tedious and your games are tiresome. If you wish to live..."  
  
Claw took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly in a sigh, "I'm not exactly sure I -can-, die Sesshoumaru. Living. Dead. These terms do not exactly apply in my situation. You can feel free to try at any time, but I assure you the exercise shall be pointless."  
  
"What, then, is your price for the required artifact?" Sesshoumaru asked, wondering when this annoyance would end.  
  
"To you," Claw replied, upturning her palms and spreading her arms outwards to indicate their surroundings, "It is free. But, my dear boy, Iemitsu's Charm is locked away. I fear, indeed, that if you do not unlock it within two days time, upon the rising of the sun the third day, the tea which I have given Rin will erase all memories of her previous life. And at that point, she will bonded until her death to this shrine as its miko. No matter where she goes, she will think only of returning to and protecting this shrine. Which is, wouldn't you say, as it should be, Sesshoumaru? Living with youkai is no sort of life for a human like Rin."  
  
Toukijin had been drawn even before Sesshoumaru himself realized it. His skin felt molten, hot, as if his entire body pulsated with the white heat of a desert sun. The scent in the air shifted as his eyes began to turn crimson red. Rin's blood. He could swear he smelled Rin's blood.  
  
"No one deprives this Sesshoumaru of his possessions."  
  
Sesshoumaru lunged at Claw, flying gracefully and elegantly through the air, Toukijin aloft, already beginning to glow with waves of bluish fire. He aimed for her shoulder, really only intending to take off a limb, maybe two. Something this creature could probably, in his estimation, survive.   
  
Toukijin hit its mark effortlessly, and a sound of metal on stone pierced the air. Sesshoumaru watched as the wooden gatepost beneath Claw shattered, and drove the creature off her perch and onto the ground. However, though Toukijin hit, Claw remained unmarred. The sword in Sesshoumaru's hand merely stopped, as if the flesh on Claw's shoulder were made of stone. No. Something harder even than stone, because Toukijin could rend rocks and boulders alike.   
  
As the taiyoukai attempted to get his mind around what exactly had just happened, Claw's hand darted out and pulled Tenseiga from its sheath. With a flick of her wrist, Sesshoumaru's other sword now lay against his jawline, pressing slightly upwards as a smirk graced Claw's face.  
  
"Did I not tell you that would be pointless?" Claw's attention seemed to focus away from Sesshoumaru and onto Tenseiga as the creature bent forward and pressed her lips to the sword which glowed brilliantly in her hands. Her voice practically purred as she whispered to the blade, "Yes. Mmm. Tenseiga. We mustn't keep your master waiting, mmm?"  
  
Claw's form suddenly became broken, covered with fine lines that grew to fissures and then canyons. With a hiss, the woman seemed to dissolve into dust, leaving Tenseiga to drop to the ground at Sesshoumaru's feet. As the cloud of dust stirred and dissolved in the wind, Claw's mirthful voice called out:  
  
"Be careful, Sesshoumaru. Your madness is showing."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
'Rin.'   
  
Only this solitary thought existed in Sesshoumaru's mind as he tore through the courtyard towards the main room of the shrine. He moved so fast he became a ball of white light, lifting from the ground slightly as the world's motion froze around him.  
  
Rin lay on her side in the candlelit room, her ebony hair spilling around her angular frame in waves. One hand lay at her slightly-open mouth, the other outstretched towards an overturned teacup and a spilled pool of murky green tea.  
  
Sesshoumaru found himself kneeling at her side, pulling Rin gently upwards into a sitting position in his lap. He could have sworn...sworn that he smelled her blood...but, he did not smell it now, and she did not appear to be injured.  
  
"Rin."  
  
The young woman stirred only slightly, making a silky "Mmm" sound and rubbing her face into the warmth of Sesshoumaru's sleeve. Sesshoumaru watched as his own hand freed itself from its perch on his tail and stroked Rin's cheek, tracing a path from the corner of her eye, down along her jawline, and stopping at her chin. Why? Why did he do that? Was he no longer in control of his own actions? But her skin had such amazing qualities of softness. It reminded him of a feather. No, even softer, even more ephemeral. A warm breeze manipulated by his fingertips.  
  
He ached to press his face to hers, his cheek to her cheek. He needed to know the differences between them, to absorb the texture of that skin into his own. He needed to taste, no...to devour. Yes. Devour Rin. Consume her and understand every nuance of her flesh, both internal and external.  
  
'There are those youkai, Sesshoumaru, who go insane for the taste of human flesh,' his mind taunted. 'Perhaps just one intricate ear? Or perhaps you could devour that warm hand which lays now against your chest. Can't you feel it in your teeth, Sesshoumaru? Can't you feel the resistance of her skin as you bite into it, the delicate meatiness of it against your tongue?'  
  
"Rin!"  
  
'This Sesshoumaru has to wake Rin up -now-. Her eyes, if only I can see her eyes, then my mind will stop. This madness will melt away. No. Mustn't look at her. I, Sesshoumaru, am not weak. Weakness exists only in lesser youkai. One taste. Just one. I, Sesshoumaru, can stop myself after tasting her skin just once. No more is needed. Just the once.'  
  
'Very, very greedy, Sesshoumaru. Look what your desire has wrought. The Great Lord of the Western Lands ready to trade his pride, his nobility, for this? No. Kill her now. Put your claw against her pulsing jugular and pierce it. So simple. And then feast. Consume her and be done with it. She can't leave you then, can she?'  
  
"Rin! Wake up!"  
  
Rin stirred again, moving her face back and forth as if fascinated even in her semi-unconscious state by the texture of Sesshoumaru's sleeve. As her eyes opened slightly, Sesshoumaru felt his breath leave him as if he were punched, as if winded by a powerful blow. Her coffee-colored eyes searched out her surroundings and eventually focused on the profile of her master's face. His eyes, which had been staring into space, flickered downwards to look at her face, though the rest of his countenance remained motionless.  
  
"Sesshouma...ru...sama?" Where was she, Rin wondered, this fabulous warmth cradling her, pressing against her? But she still felt so tired, wonderfully sleepy. Where were they last? Oh yes, the shrine. Such a nice place, even with that strange Claw person. Maybe Sesshoumaru-sama would them stay here for a while.  
  
"Rin. Did you drink the tea?"  
  
"Yes," Rin replied, her nose crinkling slightly as she stifled a yawn, "Made Rin...sleepy. Shall Rin...pour you...some?" Already Rin's eyelids grew heavy, lulling her back towards sleep. Fighting the effects of the magickal tea, Rin forced her eyes back open.  
  
"No." How could he have been so stupid? How could he not have seen through Claw's plan? 'Somehow that creature must be trapped here, and wants Rin to take its place. If this Sesshoumaru hadn't been so focused on finding Iemitsu's Charm...  
  
"Rin likes it here," the teenager's soft voice cooed, "Lets...stay..." And with those words falling from her lips, Rin fell back asleep.  
  
No. Sesshoumaru knew too well how such binding spells worked. Even with just a taste of the tea she'd begin to bond to this place. Once the magick had fully had time to work through her system, she'd be unwilling to leave. Even if he forcibly took her back to the estate, she would do everything in her power to return to the shrine. Even at the risk of her own well-being, at the risk of her life.  
  
And she'd forget herself. She'd forget him.  
  
He had to find Iemitsu's Charm. Figure out how to unlock it. Isn't that what Claw had said? He could prevent this from happening but only if he could unlock it. But, what sort of lock? And where? That damnable creature had the answers, and she had disappeared.   
  
But creatures with riddles didn't stay away long, he knew. It seemed in their nature to return again and again to taunt their prey. He'd had enough foolish opponents who couldn't get enough of seeking him out and attempting to force him to do this task or that. Claw would return. He would get answers then.  
  
Sesshoumaru lifted the young woman laying against him and placed her on the mat, far from the spilled tea. He quirked his eyebrow slightly as he realized that her hand had become entangled in the folds of fabric at his chest. No. Not entangled. Her hand clung to the fabric there as if for dear life, her grasp so intent that even in sleep her knuckles had become almost white with tension. The youkai lord carefully slid one clawed finger underneath her palm and stroked the interior of her hand. In response, Rin's hand flexed and released the fabric.  
  
Sesshoumaru sat for some time watching Rin sleep. He had done so often, he knew now, when she was younger. Although, back then, whenever he caught himself doing so, he would immediately turn away his gaze. Had that been long ago? Or was it merely yesterday? It didn't matter now. His mind felt calm. Calm and certain.  
  
The elegant taiyoukai then lay down next to his pet, his amber eyes close enough to her face to feel the air stirring with each of her gentle breaths. His arm snaked out and curled around Rin possessively, his hand resting at the back of her neck.  
  
'Rin belongs to Sesshoumaru. She is -mine-.'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rin continued to sweep the deck of the shrine with a smile upon her face as Sesshoumaru walked back into the gates. He had gone into the forest scouting the area near the shrine to see if he could find any trace of Claw. He could definitely smell the creature nearby, but couldn't seem to pin down her specific location.   
  
For her part, Rin had been cleaning the shrine and its grounds all morning, barely even stopping to ravenously eat some of the food she had brought along. She felt herself silly now, the shrine really did seem quite lovely. It just needed a few repairs and it would be quite a wonderful place. She'd discovered all sorts of interesting things this morning. A shed containing all the implements used in the shrine's ceremonies, a small housing unit where its tenants lived. She felt as if she had discovered an amazing toybox, with no end to the interesting baubles she might find.  
  
But somewhere in her thoughts, a voice pulled at her, asking again and again if there were something she had forgotten to do today.   
  
"Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin asked, stopping her sweeping and leaning upon the broom, "Do you know someone named 'Meiko' or 'Reiko'?"  
  
Sesshoumaru stopped walking, his thoughts almost visibly shifting from one subject to another. Liquidly, his eyes turned from the ground in front of him to Rin's tall form.  
  
"Yes. As do you, Rin."  
  
"Rin does?" The young woman bit her bottom lip slightly in thought, "Rin seems to recall -something- but, perhaps Rin only knew them so long ago that she can not remember now."  
  
He could tell that Rin struggled to cling to the memories of her friends. Nonetheless, no matter how hard she held to those memories, they would soon slip through her fingers, he knew.  
  
Rin looked so different today, he noted. Why did she look so strange? She had pulled her hair back, for one, into a ponytail behind her head. Rin hated restraining her hair with anything besides her butterfly combs. And secondly, her sky-blue yukata remained completely devoid of flowers. Sesshoumaru couldn't remember the last time she'd gone about without flowers in her sash or chains of them hanging from where she would pin them at her shoulder. But, above and beyond the physical, she still looked different. The joy for life which constantly played on Rin's face seemed to be...slipping away.  
  
"Shall Rin prepare you some dinner, Sesshoumaru-sama?"  
  
"No. You know this Sesshoumaru does not care for human food, Rin."  
  
"Oh. Yes," Rin said, smiling bravely through the doubt which obviously clung to her words, "Yes. Rin apologizes. Her thoughts must have been elsewhere."  
  
Sesshoumaru had seen nothing, sensed nothing that he could discern had to do with Iemitsu's Charm. He'd hoped to at least find texts relating to the infernal object, but it seemed Iemitsu hadn't seen fit to record anything at the shrine. The entire place was utterly devoid of texts. Or, perhaps Claw destroyed them. The whole thing made Sesshoumaru understand why Inuyasha had taken up swearing at every little thing.  
  
'How your brother would laugh at you now, Sesshoumaru.'  
  
"Well, Sesshoumaru, have you figured out how to unlock the Charm?"  
  
Claw's voice behind him made Sesshoumaru turn gracefully on his heel, but then almost stumble as her caustic metallic scent hit his nostrils.   
  
"Rin. Go inside and eat," Sesshoumaru commanded, not looking away from the obsidian form in front of him. Rin obeyed. 'Well, at least she still does what this Sesshoumaru dictates. That may not last long.'  
  
"That was a lovely little scene you had there last night with Rin. Were I the type of being to have emotions, I might have even wept," Claw purred, already taunting Sesshoumaru.  
  
"This Sesshoumaru demands to know what you are," Sesshoumaru replied, attempting to hold back anger he knew would be useless to unleash at the creature.  
  
"Ah. I am an Inanima, a magickal tool crafted 200 years ago by your father before he left this shrine. You see, because he made the right choice in not using the Charm on your stepmother, because he loved her so, Iemitsu took pity on your father. She gave him a vision of the future, a vision of the paths of his two sons. Because of this, he knew you would come here to seek the Charm, and so I was left to assist you."  
  
"Assist me? You've done nothing of the sort."  
  
"Ah well, perhaps a being can go a bit mad in a few centuries. It didn't take you -nearly- as long to get there yourself."  
  
Sesshoumaru snarled in reply, but realized it would be useless to draw his sword. His father's magicks would protect Claw even from his own son. "Tell this Sesshoumaru where the Charm is, and how to unlock it."  
  
"Even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me. Not yet."  
  
"Then what? It seems doubtful that my father left you here to leave me to my insanity and to uselessly destroy the life of a human girl."  
  
"Your father does not deserve a weakling. And, frankly, Sesshoumaru, no matter how good you are with those swords, or how nobly you rule your people, your madness makes that weakness quite apparent." As she said this Claw's eyes began to crackle with flashes of purple electricity.   
  
"Until tomorrow, Sesshoumaru. I recommend you spend your time with Rin wisely. After tomorrow evening, at sunrise, Rin will belong to this shrine, and will have forgotten you."  
  
"No," Sesshoumaru hissed, rushing forward to grab Claw by the shoulder as her skin began to crack and fissure just like the previous evening. "Don't you dare. This Sesshoumaru requires answers." But, as his grip on the inanima's shoulder tightened, he felt it crumble in his grasp, becoming little more than grains of sand.   
  
Claw's mocking voice echoed in the courtyard as she once again disappeared into the breeze, "If you seek answers, why don't you ask Tenseiga?"  
  
Tenseiga? What did the sword have to do with this? Sesshoumaru drew the sword with which he had saved Rin's life so long ago. The polished metal reflected the fiery sunset. Tenseiga. Tenseiga must be the key to unlocking the Charm. He'd thought many a time about ridding himself of the useless sword, but never could seem to bring himself to do it. Had his father given him the answer to his dilemma in the form of Tenseiga? If so, how? He though he had completely mastered the sword, once...and then Rin had...  
  
She had used it to turn Daishirou into a human. Perhaps there -were- things about the sword he still didn't understand, but how could he find them out. Unless Rin knew.   
  
He found her in the main room of the shrine, but unlike the previous night, she seemed awake and alert. She cleaned wall scrolls with a rag, carefully wiping away the dust that two centuries of neglect had wrought. The sight annoyed him. Rin did not belong inside a shrine, cleaning things, fussing over wall scrolls and polishing wooden tables and floors. Rin belonged in fields of flowers and in the woods and next to the fire in his quarters at the estate. How dare Claw presume to give his pet ideas to undertake duties he had not commanded of her?  
  
"Rin."  
  
The young woman looked up from her task as if taken from a favorite hobby. But, upon seeing who addressed her, her expression softened, "Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama?"  
  
"What do you know of Tenseiga?"  
  
"Tenseiga is one of the swords you carry at your side, Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin replied sweetly, her expression full of hope that she had answered correctly.  
  
"And what else?" Sesshoumaru prompted.  
  
Rin shifted her weight as she considered the question, looking at the ground and then to the ceiling as if she might find the answer mysteriously written there. "Rin is afraid she knows nothing else, Sesshoumaru-sama, unless...unless...Rin has..." the pain in Rin's voice became evident as she whispered the last word, "...forgotten." Rin lifted one of her hands to wipe away a tear forming at the corner of her eye, "Rin apologizes, Sesshoumaru-sama, but something is terribly, terribly wrong with Rin. All day Rin tried to figure it out, but...just...can't..."  
  
Rin turned away, more than slightly ashamed of her outburst. The rag in her hand dropped to the floor as she tried desperately to compose herself. It just was not right to trouble Lord Sesshoumaru like this. She had the faint feeling that someone she knew would likely yell at her for this, someone short, maybe with somewhat greenish skin, but her mind just couldn't fathom who.  
  
Warm arms curled around Rin's lanky frame from behind. A startled Rin hiccupped mid-sob, as she felt Sesshoumaru's fingers press against her collarbone, the other tighten firmly around her waist. "No, Rin. This Sesshoumaru..." He stopped himself, unable to bring himself to apologize to a human, even now.   
  
"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked. She felt him nod against the back of her head in response. Rin's hand grabbed the back of Sesshoumaru's fingers and pulled them towards her the flesh encasing her heart. She pressed them there as she whispered, "It hurts. It hurts here."  
  
What could he possibly say in response? He'd done this. She'd been the one creature who had ever trusted him completely, and he'd hurt her. And now he'd slowly taken away everything of meaning in her life through one stupid mistake. They should have never come here.   
  
And if he didn't let go of her very, very soon, he knew, his mind was going to command him to do something ridiculously unwise. No. He didn't want to think about all the times he could have killed her and spared himself the hurt of watching Rin slowly leave him. And no, he did -not- want to think about how delicious she smelled.  
  
But, what could he say? What could he say in response? Nothing. Nothing would fix what he had done.  
  
"Let us go look at the stars, Rin. The night is very clear."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
If she -had- known about Tenseiga, she certainly didn't now. For once, Sesshoumaru felt annoyed he hadn't brought along Jakken. If nothing else, the toad youkai was a wealth of arcane and esoteric knowledge.   
  
Rin had fallen asleep on the porch while watching the stars. She lay there now, curled up onto herself for warmth. It reminded Sesshoumaru of all the times he had found her sleeping outside his door in her youth. Except, in her youth she could curl into a ball. Now, no matter how hard she tried, she was still a tangle of long svelte arms and legs.  
  
After she had fallen asleep, Sesshoumaru had drawn Tenseiga to study it more closely. He tried a few subtle incantations to see if he could get the sword to react in some way different than it had previously, but found his attempts to be of no avail. Tenseiga remained as useless as ever.  
  
Sheathing the sword, he sat next to Rin, dreading the coming of the dawn. The sun's light would mean they only had 24 hours left until Rin would be gone, and he would be permanently insane.  
  
Rin mumbled something in her sleep and smiled. Sesshoumaru bent down, lowering his ear to her lips in an attempt to catch what she said.   
  
Warm breath caressed his ear as he heard, "Mustn't forget...the butterflies..."  
  
Sesshoumaru sat back up and searched the sky for one noble cloud to give him inspiration, but found none.  
  
They were running out of time.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
In our next chapter: Okay. I lied. There is ONE more chapter. I bet you can figure out what happens next? Can you? Will Sesshoumaru figure out how to unlock Iemitsu's Charm before it is too late? What exactly does the damn Charm do, anyway? Will Rin completely forget herself and everyone she knows and become the shrine's miko? Will Sesshoumaru finally snap and eat Rin for dinner? Will Claw stop being so creepy? This and MORE in the next exciting chapter of Paper Dragons. 


	6. The Paper Dragon

To The Readers: Thanks for sticking with this story. I hope it has been as enjoyable to read as it has been to write. Keep your eye on this story for a fun epilogue and post-story which should be appended at some time.  
  
This chapter gets a bit mushy in places, and the characters will do some strange things. Please recall that Sesshoumaru believes he is going insane and Rin is forgetting who she is, and blame everything on that.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 6 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sesshoumaru, the Great Lord of the Western Lands, stood above the fallen body of the young woman named Rin, his exquisitely pale hand grabbing the hilt of sword that had just pierced her heart, robbing her of her life for a second time.   
  
There would be no restoring her, not this time, not from this wound, because Rin no longer resided in this body.  
  
The scent of Rin's blood hit the taiyoukai, sharp and metallic, piercing him as deeply as the sword had done her. His mind would shatter. She was gone and he would be lost, lost forever without the companionship she had offered so freely.   
  
At the junction of sword and breast, Rin's blood spilled out, and he...he had been the cause. He had failed everyone, his father, himself, but most of all, he had failed Rin.  
  
Sesshoumaru could no longer discern himself from the whir of thoughts in his mind. A hurricane of grief raged, casting the taiyoukai into darkness as his sight grew dim. He could not breathe, he could not move, and he knew he would be trapped forever in this moment of horror.   
  
The taiyoukai fell to his knees in defeat as the forest around the shrine seemed to vibrate with movement when its residents fled for their lives.   
  
For every living being within the Western Lands had heard their master's pained scream of terror.  
  
"RRRRIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
That morning, Rin awoke to find herself wrapped in a satiny softness she could not immediately place. She blinked once, twice, as her eyes adjusted to the rosy rays of dawn. 'This warmth. So familiar but, Rin can not place it.'  
  
Sesshoumaru's tail twitched slightly as the young woman wrapped in its warmth stirred. He hadn't wished to disturb her during the night, but knew she would become too cold sleeping on the porch. Yes. He had done it because she would be too cold. It had nothing to do with the fact that his mind seemed even more disquiet outside of her presence now.   
  
As the morning breeze ruffled the fur on his tail, Rin began to squirm slightly, loosening the coils fur. Had he really constricted them so tightly? He must have not noticed. Perhaps he had been thinking of strangling Claw.  
  
And where exactly was that infernal creature? Disappeared again, it seemed, likely not to return until evening, when it would likely be too late.   
  
Rin's face finally peeked out from underneath his tail, surveying the world between blinks. Without moving his head, Sesshoumaru's eyes darted to his side to observe the teenager. Rin. But, also not Rin. This person looked tired. Rin was a morning person. This face seemed hollow and sad, Rin's face shone with joy.  
  
Between the loops of his tail, Rin's arm stretched out towards Sesshoumaru. As she pulled herself into a sitting position, she touched his face questioningly. Her touch traced the markings on his cheeks and forehead lightly as her eyes searched for understanding. Sesshoumaru held his breath. Rin had never been so brave as to touch him without his express permission. In fact, -no one- touched him without express permission. Sesshoumaru had a passing thought that he should be furious, but instead only sat, stunned, at the turn of events.  
  
Rin ran her fingers along the edge of one Sesshoumaru's pointed ears, causing the taiyoukai's eyes to open wider in surprise. Instantaneously, Sesshoumaru's hand shot up and caught Rin's wrist.  
  
"Do not do that, Rin," came the low growl.   
  
For a moment, Rin looked terrified, and he caught the scent of abject fear that pulsated from her for only a moment before being replaced with a wave of relief.  
  
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin exclaimed, finally placing the face. "Rin is sorry...Rin...must have...your face...couldn't remember for a moment..."  
  
Sesshoumaru released his ward's wrist delicately and returned his gaze to the courtyard in front of them. But, he could still feel her fingers on his sensitive ears, a touch which had set every nerve in his body to alarm. It had taken quite a bit of strength and self control not to crush her delicate wrist.  
  
"You will go with me today, Rin," Sesshoumaru announced crisply as he returned to his senses.  
  
"Leave the shrine?" Rin asked, her voice bordering on alarm.   
  
"Only for a while. We will return."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
As they walked, Sesshoumaru's thoughts alternated between the young woman at his side and the infuriating Inanima he needed to defeat. Thinking on one invariably led him to becoming annoyed and switching to think of the other.   
  
They walked towards a grove he had seen on his patrols the previous day. The flowers there had been blossoming exquisitely. If anything, he would see Rin among her beloved flowers one last time. Not because he possessed an ounce of sentimentality, but because that seemed correct and fitting in the overall flow of the world. 'That makes absolutely no sense, Sesshoumaru.'  
  
'You can't let Claw have Rin. Even if you can't find the Charm, if you kill Rin, you still beat Claw. You will have proven that you aren't weak, and then your mind should then be free. Everything will go back to the way it should be. The way it always was.'  
  
On the other hand, the woman walking beside him caused his thoughts to be troubled as well. The little things seemed wrong. Like the way she looked down at the path instead of walking with confidence. Rin couldn't get enough of looking at nature. She'd inspect everything, taking leaf samples and picking up rocks as she walked. Any journey with Rin always became an adventure with the young woman's constant discoveries of something -new-.   
  
He wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her. But, it would be pointless.   
  
They came upon a field blanketed in purple and white flowers. Sesshoumaru half expected Rin to name their species and then declare "My favorite!" It seemed every type of flower was her favorite. She would then run to the very middle of the field and spin around until she was too dizzy to stand, falling on the ground to roll on the blossoms until she reeked of their scent.  
  
But no, the woman by his side merely looked forlornly at the field and asked, "Is this our destination?"  
  
Without answering, Sesshoumaru strode into the field. Rin followed behind. After crossing its length, Sesshoumaru found a sturdy tree at the other edge of the grove and sat. Rin remained standing, fidgeting slightly with one of her yukata sleeves, as if unsure what she should do.  
  
"Sit here, Rin," Sesshoumaru intoned, indicating a spot next to him.   
  
They sat together quietly for some time, merely watching the field. The flowers swayed in the midmorning breeze as flying insects of every sort seemed to compose an ever-changing confetti in the air. Songbirds called to one another from the nearby woods, seeking to impress each other by composing elegant symphonies of sound. And as the heat of the morning rose, so did the intensity of the perfume of the flowers.  
  
Sesshoumaru reached into the front of his haori and pulled out a small, fragile object which he had kept sequestered away within the folds for many years now. Rin watched him with mild curiouity as he extended his hand and opened his fist, palm upwards.  
  
There, cradled within his cupped hand, lay a well worn origami dragon. Rin stared at the elaborate folded paper, unsure of the meaning of Sesshoumaru's gesture.  
  
'Tell her. Tell her now, you may not get another chance,' Sesshoumaru's mind pleaded. However, this voice, this particular voice seemed wholly unlike the others he had been hearing. This voice seemed...small and frightened.  
  
"You gave this to Sesshoumaru some years ago," the taiyoukai explained. "At the time, I did not understand. You wished me to be protected, but why would I, Sesshoumaru, need protection?"  
  
Rin shook her head almost imperceptibly, indicating that she had no recollection of the event.  
  
"The thought came that you were worried that I, Sesshoumaru, might be attacked. But now... Perhaps you wished for me not to forget you on my journey. Well, it was a futile gesture, Rin. This Sesshoumaru has been unable to place you from his mind since he met you. And, I swear by my great ancestors, there has been no lack of trying on my part."  
  
Sesshoumaru placed the paper dragon carefully on Rin's knee as he continued. His words tasted sticky in his mouth, the cause of which he definitely understood now. Sadness. This definitely had to be sadness. The same feeling that had washed over him when his mother died.  
  
"It is for you now, Rin," Sesshoumaru said as evenly as possible, "So that you will not forget this Sesshoumaru."  
  
Sesshoumaru had meant to say more words. But, instead, he only looked out into the field as he struggled to not think of what life would be like without Rin. He would still be the Great Lord of the Western Lands. He would still rule justly and nobly. But, what meaning would it have if Rin did not walk beside him to appreciate all he did? Meaning? Why did his life need this 'meaning'? Was it not enough that he carried on the traditions of his forefathers, becoming their equal and perhaps even surpassing them in some regards? No. But why? 'Why is it not enough?'  
  
Rin picked up the origami creature and studied it intently. As she did, she smiled widely, openly, unashamedly. She radiated joy, and her cinnamon scent of happiness replaced the hollowness that had been wafting from her all morning.   
  
"Oh, thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin looked up at her master, who turned his head only slightly in her direction. He nodded minutely in reply. Rin turned back to look at the field of flowers. Almost instantly, she jumped up and ran into the grove, tugging at the tie which bound her hair.  
  
Rin danced among the flowers, her now-unbound hair swishing around her like festival ribbons. The sun played on her tan skin and the wind frolicked with the fabric of her yukata. Occasionally, she would throw herself to the ground, disappearing in the gentle mounds of flowers, only to appear again moments later holding aloft some prize, a flower or an insect or an interesting rock.  
  
'She is so like the gentler aspects of Nature itself, wild and carefree. Taming her is only an illusion, but one with which she will agree for the sake of the onlooker. This Sesshoumaru supposes then that he would be the darker aspects of Nature, such as storms and earthquakes and wildfires. He is that which brings fear to the world's inhabitants. Can not this Sesshoumaru be more? Can not his nobility be more than just controlling his people with fear?'  
  
'This Sesshoumaru wishes he knew some words to describe that human who dances before him now. Perhaps this Sesshoumaru shall have to commission new words to be made, words that can only be used to describe Rin. Words that have never become debased through misapplication and overuse. Magickal words that immediately bring to mind the fullness of all that is wonderful about Rin.'  
  
Rin returned, looking a bit tired from her exploits, her arms overflowing with vibrant purple and white blossoms. Sitting beside the grand youkai, she let her bushel of flowers fall from her arms into her lap, where she immediately began to create a flower chain.   
  
The sun rose even higher in the sky as Rin focused on her task. Suddenly, she found that laying among the flowers in her lap was the silver-haired head of her youkai master, his cheek pressed into the flowers that lay strewn across her thighs. Both the human and the youkai inhaled deeply, Rin in surprise and Sesshoumaru in an attempt to fill himself with the scent of flowers, of cinnamon, of Rin.  
  
Rin let the blossoms in her hand fall, and moved her fingers to a new task, gently stroking the white-silver bangs that shaded Sesshoumaru's forehead and eyes. Her nimble fingers entwined themselves in his hair, would pull gently upwards, and then release his hair to fall again over his temples. The rhythm soothed him.   
  
'Yes. This is the way it should be. This is right. My pet is here for my comfort. This is so peaceful, so achingly peaceful. As if there should be no more battles, no more anger, no more madness. Just Rin. Just Rin doing this for me forever.'  
  
Finally, Rin spoke.  
  
"Rin thinks Claw-sama likes you a lot more than she pretends, Sesshoumaru-sama."  
  
Sesshoumaru felt his nails dig into the hidden flesh within his tail. 'Rin does not start conversations. Rin does not speak before spoken to. This is wrong, wrong, wrong. And Claw -sama-? Why does she say its name with such respect?'  
  
"This Sesshoumaru does not care one iota what that creature, or any creature, thinks of him."  
  
"Well, that is obviously a lie," Rin said offhandedly, still stroking her master's hair.   
  
"What...did...you...just...say?" He measured each word carefully, certain that he could not have heard what he just imagined. Rin would not dare to call him a liar. Such a thing would be unthinkable.   
  
"Your words were a lie. You obviously care very much what people think of you, and that they think of you. Would you have given me the paper dragon otherwise?"   
  
No. This was wrong. This was incredibly and horribly wrong. Sesshoumaru pulled himself up quickly, crouching on his hands and knees as he glared at his servant's face. His piercing feral stare bore into Rin, his incredulousness giving way to anger. Rin froze, as naive prey tends to do when it realizes it is trapped. She could feel his ragged breath as he moved closer to her face, growling animalistically.  
  
All he had wanted, all he had needed, was that moment of perfection. Just one more hour, one more minute, one more second of things being right. Of Rin being Rin and giving him peace. And she...had...ruined...everything.  
  
"You...would not...should not...dare to speak..." Sesshoumaru hissed as he leaned in closer, not even realizing what he intended. He would kill her. He would have her dead. Not for her trespass in calling him a liar. He would kill her for stealing his solace, his peace. "...of this Sesshoumaru...in such a manner. You would not DARE!"  
  
Rin remained motionless, her coffee-colored eyes only growing slightly larger as her master's anger washed over them both. Rin watched as Sesshoumaru's gaze moved from her eyes, down her face to her lips, and then lower, over the creamy expanse of her neck.   
  
'Yes,' Rin's mind pleaded, 'That is where you should be looking, Sesshoumaru-sama.' To emphasize this, Rin tilted her head backwards very slightly, allowing the skin to pull taught.  
  
"You...would not...dare..." Sesshoumaru whispered again, mesmerized by the heartbeat he could now see, pulsing softly through the skin of Rin's neck.  
  
"-I- would dare," Rin replied, moving forward ever so slightly.  
  
Sesshoumaru felt his lips come into contact with Rin's skin, the ephemeral layer that protected her blood flow. Rin's lifeblood coursed only millimeters from his touch. Anger and confusion blinded him, leaving him in a darkness composed only of the smell of Rin, the sound of her heartbeat, and the feeling of her skin on his lips.  
  
"Please, Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin's voice said shakily, barely audible to the youkai above the tides of her blood, "Please don't let me forget. I won't get another chance...to ask."  
  
Suddenly, Sesshoumaru understood. This is what she wanted. To make him angry, to enrage him enough to kill her before she forgot everything. 'Yes. Yes. She wants this. You gave her back her life once, and now you must take it. If you won't do it for yourself, then do it for her.' Sesshoumaru felt his teeth graze over Rin's neck, feeling the longing to succumb to her wishes reverberate achingly in his fangs.  
  
'No. You are Sesshoumaru. No one commands your actions. No youkai. Not Claw. Not Rin. She may wish to die, but this is not allowed. Isn't that why you came here in the first place? To seek the Charm that would bestow upon her immortality? The Charm that would protect her so that she would always be by your side? You have not failed. Not yet. There is still time.'  
  
When Rin opened her eyes, Sesshoumaru was gone.   
  
She brushed the errant blossoms off of her lap, retrieved her hair tie, and stood to return to the shrine.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sesshoumaru felt his entire body literally shaking as he finally stopped running. Although the physical exertion of his flight from Rin should not have caused him any problems, his breath came in quick pants. Sesshoumaru steadied himself by placing one hand against a tree, thanking whatever benevolent gods had stopped him from killing Rin.  
  
If only those same gods would see fit to assist him with his -other- problems.   
  
'When did she stop being my pet? When did she start to be my world?'  
  
'What? Where did that thought come from?' Sesshoumaru wondered. 'By the wondrous Kami of Nature, compose yourself, Sesshoumaru. This is exactly what Claw wanted, for you to spend time with Rin and lose focus on the main fight.'  
  
'Or, maybe Rin -was- right. Maybe Claw -is- trying to help me out, and this Sesshoumaru just can't see it. Rin always sees things in such a different way from other youkai, and other humans, and it isn't often that she is wrong.'  
  
'Argh. This is so confusing. This Sesshoumaru is -losing- his mind!'  
  
As if to punctuate that last assertion, Sesshoumaru threw his arms around himself and banged his forehead against the tree upon which he had been leaning. Over and over and over, he tried to calm his mind by the use of brute force. By the time he had finished, the tree's bark had been completely stripped in an area about the size of a hand.  
  
Somehow, it did make Sesshoumaru feel a bit better. He brushed small flakes of bark off of his forehead and out of his hair, and set off to return to the grove where he had left Rin.  
  
But, when he arrived, Rin was nowhere to be found.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sesshoumaru could see Rin sweeping the porch of the shrine as he arrived. 'Of course. Of course she would return here. There really was no reason for you to run quite that fast through the woods, now was there?'  
  
The youkai Lord opened the gate of the shrine causing the rickety wood to squeak slightly as he entered the courtyard. The young woman looked up from her obviously consuming task and smiled.  
  
"Hello Sesshoumaru-san," she said, leaning her broom up against the wall as she stepped off the porch.  
  
'What? Wait. What did she just call this Sesshoumaru? That didn't sound right.'  
  
Rin bowed formally to Sesshoumaru as he approached, and as she raised her body she said, "How may I be of assistance to you today?"  
  
Sesshoumaru's mind swam at Rin's strange behavior, everything from the bowing, to speaking of herself in the first person, to changing the honorific she used with his name. Certainly he couldn't have been away from her for more than twenty minutes. How could she have changed so much in such a short time?  
  
"I don't understand," Sesshoumaru finally grunted, "What has happened?"  
  
"Oh," the teenager said, bowing again, "Please forgive me Sesshoumaru-san, if I seem a bit strange today. Things have been quite bizarre of late. I think I may perhaps be ill or, possibly a rival miko has tried to put some spell on me. Of course, it shall be of absolutely no use. I know of no miko who can rival the power of the great Iemitsu, hm?"  
  
Sesshoumaru all but stumbled backwards at the revelation. 'Rin thinks she is Iemitsu? Claw lied. That damned Inanima lied and told this Sesshoumaru we had until sunrise. She's already forgotten. And somehow Rin knew, she knew how close she was to forgetting, and she tried to tell me when she bore her throat to me.' The taiyoukai felt as if he had been punched in the gut. He sank to his knees as his head swam with fury.  
  
"Sesshoumaru-san! Are you quite alright? Are you ill, Sesshoumaru-san?"  
  
'Wait. She hasn't forgotten everything. She still knows my name. So...some part of Rin must still be inside. There is still hope.'  
  
Suddenly, a thought seized Sesshoumaru. He looked up at the young woman standing before him, stared hard into her concerned eyes.   
  
"You are Iemitsu."  
  
"Yes. I am," the teenager said sweetly.  
  
Sesshoumaru shot up and grabbed Rin, now Iemitsu, by the shoulders. "Where is it? Where is the Charm?"  
  
"Oh, that hurts!" the youth complained as the youkai's grasp tightened, claws digging into her soft flesh, "Please..."  
  
"Tell me. The Charm. TELL ME!"  
  
He knew that Rin must be within this human somewhere, but Sesshoumaru could barely sense her. Even her voice had changed, becoming high and nasal rather than warm and windy. Her scent had begun to change as well, oozing that sickly fetid smell that wafted from most of her race. Sesshoumaru tried not to choke on the scent as he waited for the teenager to answer.  
  
"I...can't...remember. I had it...and then..."  
  
"AND THEN WHAT?" Sesshoumaru realized he was yelling, and he realized that when he did speak, he shook the girl by her shoulders. 'Careful, Sesshoumaru. Rin is in there -somewhere-. You have to look past this putrid human.'  
  
"I gave it to your father!"  
  
"Think hard, Iemitsu, did he say what he was going to do with it?"  
  
"Please stop shaking me, that hurts!" Rin's lips and Iemitsu's voice said. Rin's eyes closed as her face contorted in thought. Sesshoumaru wanted to slap the miko for making Rin's face look like that, but then her eyes flew open and she spoke. "Yes! I remember! He said he was going to put it in a sword.   
  
"A sword?" Sesshoumaru asked as he unceremoniously dropped the girl, letting her land roughly on the ground. 'Tenseiga. It must be in Tenseiga.'  
  
Sesshoumaru quickly drew his birthright sword and held it in front of his face. But, just as on the previous night, he had no idea how to unlock whatever secret power the sword might hold. 'Maybe all I have to do is...'  
  
The Great Lord of the Western Land flicked his wrist expertly and positioned the sword under the miko's chin. Iemitsu winced as she felt the cold metal scrape against her flesh. 'If this Sesshoumaru is wrong...then...then...who knows what might happen? But, what else can be done? It has to be tried, for Rin's sake...'  
  
Rin's eyes pleaded with him silently. No. He couldn't look at her face. If he did, and this failed. That would be too much to bear. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and thrust Tenseiga forward.  
  
The resistance he met surprised the taiyoukai. The sword didn't budge.   
  
Sesshoumaru opened his eyes to find Claw standing beside Tenseiga, slightly in front of Rin, her obsidian hand curled around the middle of the blade. Claw gingerly lifted the katana, careful to move it to the side to miss Rin's face.  
  
"Ah, Sesshoumaru, that would not be wise," Claw said her grasp still tight on the sword. "Perhaps I should remove this sword from your possession for now, if you have decided to make yourself a danger to this young woman."  
  
"You..." The demon lord's eyes became slits as he hissed at the wild creature standing before him. Careful not to breathe through his nose so as not to be distracted by Claw's molten metallic scent, Sesshoumaru slid the sword from her stone grasp. As he did, tiny sparks from the friction of metal on rock flew up through Claw's fingers. "You want the sword? Of course. That makes me all the more set upon using it. This Sesshoumaru must be correct in is assumptions, otherwise why would you try to stop me?"  
  
"Because you will kill her, Sesshoumaru. This sword can restore life, yes. But it is also a normal piece of metal. Thrusting it through this young woman's neck will certainly kill her."  
  
"So? If it does, this Sesshoumaru will use Tenseiga then to bring her back."  
  
Claw turned over her hand and inspected it, flexing her fingers. Upon finding no damage, she looked down at the young woman on the ground. The Inanima extended her wiry arm, hand bent backwards at the wrist, and made a small circular motion with her fingers.   
  
Rin slumped over on her side, her cheek pressed to the dirt.  
  
"What did you do to her?" Sesshoumaru asked.  
  
"She is merely sleeping, Sesshoumaru. Our words are too confusing for her. Rin still struggles with Iemitsu. Should we tax her mind too much, neither one will survive the process with any sort of sanity in tact." Claw leaned down and picked Rin up, placing her on the shine's porch in a more comfortable position. "No, as to your assumption that you would merely resurrect her, you are incorrect. Depending on how far along the process is, you may bring Iemitsu back to life -instead- of Rin. Tenseiga can only resurrect the soul most in control of the body. Do you want to chance it?"  
  
"Maybe you are lying to me," Sesshoumaru hissed.  
  
"Maybe. But again, do you want to take the chance?" Claw chuckled and shook her head, "I like you, Sesshoumaru. You don't trust anyone. That is going to make my job much more enjoyable."  
  
Sesshoumaru shifted his weight as he finally re-sheathed Tenseiga. "You can't fool me, Claw. Rin...Iemitsu...she said that my father decided to put the Charm in a sword. So, it -must- be in Tenseiga."  
  
Claw sighed deeply and looked up at the rapidly darkening sky. Evening had arrived quickly, and the sound of the spring cicadas had died down sharply. "Must it be in Tenseiga?" Claw asked absently, "Are you sure?"  
  
"Where else could it....." Sesshoumaru stopped abruptly as his eyes grew wide. No, certainly his father would not play -that- trick. With all the power that Tetsusaiga had, certainly his father had not given Inuyasha the Charm -too-!  
  
"No, I know what you are thinking. But, the Charm is not in your brother's destiny. Though, wouldn't that be hilarious?" Claw began to laugh so hard she clutched at her sides, "Your brother running around after the Shikon Jewel to become a full demon if he...had Iemitsu's Charm...all along. How witty of you to think of such a thing Sesshoumaru."   
  
"This Sesshoumaru does not find anything funny. Stop laughing."  
  
Claw laughed for several more minutes, until her frenzy died down to a whimsical chuckle. "Yes, yes, Sesshoumaru. I know. A youkai such as yourself must keep composure at all times. That will prove annoying in the future. Ah, if only I could have traded places with my sister. She'll certainly have an easier time of things."  
  
Sesshoumaru flexed his fingers on his tail, wondering if his Dokkasou could melt Claw's face. "What...are...you...talking...about, you mad wench?"   
  
"Ah. Nevermind. Idle chatter. And really, do you have any room to talk about beings which have gone mad? I think -not-."  
  
"ENOUGH. Where is the Charm, Claw?"  
  
"You were so close...earlier today. You were so very close to unlocking it. I thought you had it when you and Rin were together by the tree."  
  
Sesshoumaru racked his mind, trying to figure out Claw's infuriating riddles. Why was the creature being so obtuse? Why couldn't she ever say what she meant?  
  
"You really don't get it, do you Sesshoumaru? You don't deserve Rin."  
  
Sesshoumaru looked at the young woman sleeping on the porch, her face pained even though her breathing came rhythmically. "Rin belongs to this Sesshoumaru. She is his property."  
  
"Don't you get it? She's been slowly losing her memory these past two days, and she came to a point where she had only two things left...her memory of herself...and her memory of you. Which one did she choose, Sesshoumaru? You idiot! She sacrificed her memory of herself, just so she could hold on to the memory of you for a few hours more. Doesn't that -mean- anything to you?"  
  
"Rin has always been exceedingly loyal," Sesshoumaru replied. Nonetheless, his mind buzzed with Claw's words. They were true. Even if everything else the Inanima said had been a lie, he had seen with his own eyes that -this- was true. Sesshoumaru felt something within his chest grow sore, and his throat tightened. 'Maybe I don't deserve her. Perhaps she would be better off here. She'd be revered by the humans as almost a goddess. But, she would not be Rin, either. No. That is not acceptable.'  
  
"Loyal? Is that -all- she is? A loyal servant? I don't think so. Great Demon Lords do not come to haunted human shrines to find legendary Charms to turn ordinary human servants into youkai."  
  
"I've grown used to her companionship. She is useful. It would be annoying if she died." Sesshoumaru looked up at the sky, adding silently to himself, 'And it would somehow hurt me badly.'  
  
"Feh. Pitiful. Your father was obviously wrong about you. I see that now. Well. I've had enough. Time to stop wasting time, because sometimes there just isn't enough time to waste!" Claw turned back to the porch and bent over Rin's sleeping body.  
  
"What do you mean? What are you doing?"  
  
"I'm taking Rin to Iemitsu's grave. A closer proximity will assist the transition," Claw replied incredulously, as if even the most simple of creatures would know this information.  
  
Sesshoumaru stepped forward and grasped Claw by her shoulder, throwing her to the ground while she was off balance. As Claw skidded backwards and landed sitting in the dirt of the courtyard, the taiyoukai growled, "This Sesshoumaru will not allow it."  
  
"Do not be difficult, Sesshoumaru."  
  
'My only chance is to transform. Then this Sesshoumaru could possibly defeat Claw with mere strength.' The demon lord allowed his full powers to flow through his veins, coursing over him as raw energy blasted through his body, causing his garments to billow outwards and his hair to toss wildly.  
  
"No. You shall not transform." Claw intoned as she lifted her arm, her hand again bent upwards at the wrist. She mouthed a word that Sesshoumaru did not catch, and he watched as a stream of white light leapt from his chest into her hand. Sesshoumaru's breath caught as he felt the unbridled power of his true form leave him and pass through the night air into Claw's hand.  
  
"I'll just keep this for the time being," Claw said with a chuckle as she turned again to gather the sleeping Rin into her arms. Turning around again, Claw smiled, "She does smell nice, doesn't she, Sesshoumaru?"   
  
After spending but a few seconds catching his breath, Sesshoumaru stood again, drawing Toukijin. He couldn't try his poison now, not with Rin so close, but perhaps...perhaps if he stabbed the annoying creature in its eye, he could distract it long enough to grab Rin and run.  
  
"No, no, Sesshoumaru. Stay here. There is no need for you to accompany us." Claw merely flicked her hand in his direction, and Sesshoumaru felt a jolt slide through his body, landing at his feet. As he tried to move forward, he found himself bolted to the ground by Claw's powerful magick.  
  
Claw rocked Rin softly in her arms, watching the now-trapped Sesshoumaru as she did so.   
  
"Say goodbye to her, Sesshoumaru."  
  
"Do not do this Claw. Do not."  
  
Claw smiled and pushed some of Rin's errant hair from the teenager's temples, "Why not?"  
  
"I do not care where you go, or what becomes of you, if you leave with that girl, I will hunt you until the end of my days, until the world grows dry and turns to dust."  
  
"Feh feh, pretty words. We'll be leaving," Claw announced, shifting Rin's weight in her arms, looking bored.  
  
"I will come back to this shrine and kill her."  
  
"No, Sesshoumaru, she will be protected."  
  
Sesshoumaru desperately attempted to stall Claw while he concentrated on his legs. 'Move, damn you, move.'  
  
"Here, Sesshoumaru, I'll give you something to remember her by." The capricious Inanima grinned evilly as she tore two small strips from Rin's sleeve. Using one long ebony talon, Claw punctured the skin on Rin's wrist. She held one of the strips of cloth there for a few seconds before removing it and tying the other strip into place as a bandage. Claw wadded up the bloody fabric and tossed it at Sesshoumaru's face.  
  
The taiyoukai caught the strip of cloth easily and stared at it for only a second before the overpowering odor of Rin's blood drew his attentions away from his paralyzed legs. He reeled from the aroma, scenes of Rin flashing through his mind. Rin ill. Rin wearing geta. Rin bleeding in a tree. Rin staring at him in the lake. Rin dancing. Rin smiling.  
  
"You. Will..."  
  
"Die. Yes, yes," Claw said, exasperated, "We've been over that. Goodbye."  
  
Claw began to rise into the air, clutching Rin's body. Floating upwards, she kept her gaze locked on the struggling taiyoukai below. The night breeze ruffled their various garments as the moonlight seemed to bathe the scene in an ethereal glow.  
  
"Rin!" Sesshoumaru called, his only hope now to wake the sleeping form of his servant. "RIN!!!!  
  
Within the body of the Great Demon Lord of the Western Lands, something burst. Some wall, some barrier, some obstruction that he had placed within his heart in his youth cracked down the middle, and the lake of emotion that had been dammed there for so many decades rushed out, creating a tidal wave that consumed him. All at once, fear and hope, sadness and joy, grief and longing consumed him in such a raging surge that he fell to his knees, clutching at the clumps of grass beside him as if to hold on to the Earth for fear he might be swept away.  
  
"RINNNNNNNN! DON'T LEAVE ME!"  
  
There would be no way, no way he could live without her, without the meaning she brought to his life. Nothing would have any meaning if he could not share it with Rin. Life would be completely pointless.  
  
"Rin, please, please listen. Please...I can't live without you!"  
  
Claw stopped moving upwards. The Inanima's head tilted slightly to the side, a motion imperceptible to the taiyoukai now far below. And then, Claw smiled.  
  
Sesshoumaru beat his fists against the ground, summoning all of his strength in an attempt to convey his message to the one being in the world he needed above all others.  
  
"Remember me, Rin!!! Remember that...remember...that I love you!"  
  
Above the shrine of the miko Iemitsu, a creature known as Claw took in her last breath as her world became a molten white light.   
  
Sesshoumaru watched as the pair began to fall to Earth. At first it looked as if sparks were shooting off of Claw's skin, but then Sesshoumaru realized that Claw's skin -itself- had begun to flake away. Larger and larger chunks shed into the ether, leaving in their wake a bright glow.  
  
Faster and faster they fell. When Claw's arms disappeared, Rin slipped from the Inanima's grasp, and began to fall faster than Claw, who, though plunging downwards, still seemed to possess some power which allowed her to float.   
  
Rin hit the ground with a thud, causing a cloud of dust to raise up from the earth. Above her, Claw all but exploded in light as the remainder of her obsidian flesh shed away. After a few moments, the glowing light died down.  
  
And that is when Sesshoumaru saw it, the tempered metal flashing blue in the moonlight, floating in the sky where Claw had been.   
  
A sword.   
  
A sword that was now plunging to earth.  
  
In horror, Sesshoumaru watched as the sword which had been sequestered away within Claw's body fell faster and faster...only to be stopped when it plunged into Rin's chest, piercing his beloved's heart.  
  
Finding that Claw's spell had broken with her transformation, Sesshoumaru moved faster than he had ever moved before.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sesshoumaru, the Great Lord of the Western Lands, stood above the fallen body of the young woman named Rin, his exquisitely pale hand grabbing the hilt of sword that had just pierced her heart, robbing her of her life for a second time.  
  
There would be no restoring her, not this time, not from this wound, because Rin no longer resided in this body.  
  
The scent of Rin's blood hit the taiyoukai, sharp and metallic, piercing him as deeply as the sword had done her. His mind would shatter. She was gone and he would be lost, lost forever without the companionship she had offered so freely.  
  
At the junction of sword and breast, Rin's blood spilled out, and he...he had been the cause. He had failed everyone, his father, himself, but most of all, he had failed Rin.  
  
Sesshoumaru could no longer discern himself from the whir of thoughts in his mind. A hurricane of grief raged, casting the taiyoukai into darkness as his sight grew dim. He could not breathe, he could not move, and he knew he would be trapped forever in this moment of horror.  
  
The taiyoukai fell to his knees in defeat as the forest around the shrine seemed to vibrate with movement when its residents fled for their lives.  
  
For every living being within the Western Lands had heard their master's pained scream of terror.  
  
"RRRRIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Rin?" the female voice asked through the darkness. "Are you still here?"  
  
"Who is that?" Rin asked, trying desperately to see anything, "Its dark. Rin can not see you."  
  
"My name is Iemitsu." A glowing orb of warm light rose between the two women, illuminating only their faces and upper bodies, revealing nothing of their environment but infinite darkness. "Is that better, Rin?  
  
Rin gasped slightly as she looked at the woman before her, "You look just like Rin!"  
  
Iemitsu smiled knowingly in response and whispered, "Or perhaps Rin looks like Iemitsu?"  
  
Rin hung her head down slightly, staring at her hands, "Rin is afraid she doesn't understand."  
  
"Ah. You would be my great great great great great great great granddaughter, Rin."  
  
"Oh," Rin replied, slightly confused, "Is Rin perhaps dreaming, then?"  
  
"No, sweet child, you can see me because you are very, very close to death, and I...of course...-am- dead. But, please don't panic. Time acts very differently here. One second of your mortal life might be an eternity in this place. And, before you even ask, do not worry about Sesshoumaru. One way or the other, you will be seeing him soon."  
  
"Oh thank you, Iemitsu-sama. You are very kind."  
  
"You're welcome, Rin-chan," Iemitsu said softly as she reached out to touch her descendant's cheek. "I've been watching you for a long time, Rin-chan. You've done a good job with your life. But, I wanted to tell you something."  
  
"Please do, Iemitsu-sama," Rin replied, leaning back on her hands only to find that there did not seem to be anything to lean upon.  
  
"Do you remember the story of the Silver Dagger Butterflies, Rin-chan?"  
  
"Yes! One of my favorites. I made Jakken-sama tell it to me often." Remembering how she had flustered the toad youkai with the constant re-telling of the story made Rin giggle.  
  
"Do you remember how it ends?"  
  
"Very much so. Such a sad ending. The Silver Dagger Butterflies are sent by the Dragon King to test the hearts of all the humans. They do so, but don't find any virtuous and pure humans, so all the humans die. And then the Silver Dagger Butterflies find out that human blood is poisonous to them, and they die too."  
  
A mysterious smile appeared on Iemitsu's face, "Except that isn't what -really- happened. If it was, there would be no humans, right?"  
  
"Right! I asked Jakken-sama about that, but he didn't have an answer."  
  
"Do you want to know what really happened?"  
  
"Oh yes! Very much so, Iemitsu-sama."  
  
"The Dragon King sent the Silver Dagger Butterflies out to test the hearts of all the humans. This they did, and every single human was found to have a defect in their virtues, every single one found to have a heart filled with decay, with anger or hatred, with envy or greed. Every single heart...except one."  
  
"In a hut beyond the highest mountains, through a pass covered in ice, within a dense and enormous forest, the last Silver Dagger Butterfly found the human to which he had been assigned. He plunged knowingly into her heart, having already seen the fates of all his brethren. And he waited."  
  
"But, once within the confines of her heart, he could find no defect. 'Surely', he thought, 'I must be missing something,' so he delved deeper and deeper, but could find nothing amiss. Her heart was filled with pure joy, pure kindness, pure love. And to his great surprise, because of this, her blood was not poisonous to him."  
  
"She asked the Silver Dagger Butterfly why he had come, and he told her of the mandate of the Dragon King. The young woman was filled with sorrow upon hearing the fates of both the humans and the Silver Dagger Butterflies. She promised the last Silver Dagger Butterfly that she would set things right, so she set out to find the Dragon King."  
  
"The girl traveled through the dense forest, down the pass covered in ice, over the highest mountain and into the great land beyond. The Butterfly within her heart directing her, she eventually came to the palace of the Dragon King. She spoke to the guards and demanded to be seen. Upon hearing that one human still lived, the Dragon King was intrigued. He sent for the young woman and had her brought to his chambers."  
  
"But, when he saw her, so fair was her skin and so great the beauty of her heart, he fell instantly in love. He pleaded with the young woman to stay with him forever, but she was so filled with sorrow at the loss of her fellow humans that when she looked upon him, she could only weep."  
  
"So the Dragon King made her a promise. If she would stay but for a year and a day, he would restore the human race and let them live within his lands. The young woman agreed to this, and came to live in his grand palace. The Dragon King asked the girl her name, and upon finding she had none, he gave her a name that he thought at least touched upon the brilliance of her beauty. He named her Sunshine."  
  
"The days passed quickly within the great palace, and the Dragon King and Sunshine spent many happy moments together. They took picnics on the clouds and wove elegant tapestries from the rains. They listened to grand orchestras performed by forests and watched plays performed by the oceans. In time. Sunshine found that she had grown quite fond of the Dragon King, and grew sad as the day approached for her to leave."  
  
"He begged her not to go, but she said that she had to return to the humans. She had to help them find their way, to show them joy, and kindness and love so that they could grow to be a good race. But, someday, she promised, she would return."  
  
"When Sunshine left, the Dragon King wept. No one within his court could console him. He felt lost without his love. So, he decided he would make one final plea for the heart of the maiden. He dressed all of the butterflies of the world in the finest array of colors, in all the colors of his love, and sent them down to the lands as a message to Sunshine."  
  
"When Sunshine saw the butterflies, saw the intensity and grandeur of the Dragon King's love, her eyes filled with tears as she realized that she loved him, too. Her joy at this revelation caused even the Silver Dagger Butterfly now living within her heart to leap with excitement. But the wings of a Silver Dragon Butterfly are sharp knives, and by accident he slit her heart in twain, causing her to die."  
  
"When the Silver Dagger Butterfly, who had witnessed the love grow between the Dragon King and the girl Sunshine realized what had happened, it was too late. As Sunshine breathed her last, the Silver Dagger Butterfly wrapped itself around her broken heart, trying to hold the pieces together. As it did, it fused with Sunshine's soul."  
  
"'We will come again,' he exclaimed to his dying friend, 'We will return to earth again and again to guide the humans until they no longer need us. And when our task is through, we will test the heart of every man, woman, and child until we find the heart of our beloved Dragon King!'  
  
"But, the Dragon King did not know that Sunshine would return. So he grew cold and cruel because of his sadness. With her loss, his heart changed to pitch black. And because of this, when Sunshine did finally return, the Silver Dagger Butterfly fused within her soul was unable to recognize the heart of Sunshine's beloved."  
  
As Iemitsu's words came to an end, Rin felt hot tears trailing down her own cheek. Smiling bravely through a sniffle, Rin whispered, "A beautiful story. Thank you, Iemitsu-sama."  
  
The miko's ghost leaned forward and wiped away one of Rin's tears with the soft pad of her thumb. Iemitsu stroked the young woman's cheek with the back of her hand.  
  
"Oh my dearest Sunshine," Iemitsu whispered, "You've traveled so far, you've parted so much darkness. If you can but tell me the name of the one who now contains the heart of your Dragon King, your journey will be at an end. Tell me, Sunshine, have you found him?"  
  
Rin reached up to lace her finger's through the miko's. Rin squeezed the other woman's hand.  
  
"Thank you Iemitsu-sama."  
  
"What is his name, Rin?"  
  
The glowing light between the two women grew bright as Rin whispered, "Yes. I have found him. His name is Sesshoumaru."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Sesshoumaru?"  
  
"Where is this Sesshoumaru?" Sesshoumaru demanded, clenching his fists in the darkness. "Who is there?"  
  
"Just me, Sesshoumaru," Claw's voice replied as dim moonlight began to seep into the area. Sesshoumaru realized he stood in a field, the same field of purple and white flowers he and Rin had gone to view earlier. Oh no. Rin!  
  
"Claw..." Sesshoumaru growled. As he did so, the dark-skinned Inanima stepped from the tree line and approached the taiyoukai. "You killed Rin!"  
  
"Well well, you're a bit quick to place blame, aren't you? Don't you think -you- might have had -something- to do with that?"  
  
Sesshoumaru wanted to rush Claw, beat her with his fists until either every bone in his hands turned to dust or she perished. But, instead, he merely sank down into the flowers. The sweet aroma of the field reminded him of Rin. Filling his lungs, he closed his eyes, wishing that he could stay here forever and imagine that Rin danced nearby.  
  
"Sesshoumaru, you are an idiot. This is no time to resign yourself to death. You just admitted your love for Rin. Aren't you going to fight for her?"  
  
"She's dead, Claw." Sesshoumaru laid down in the flowers, pressing his youkai face against the delicate blossoms. 'Mmm. They feel like Rin's skin.'  
  
"First of all, my name, Sesshoumaru, my true name, is Tenzenryoku. It is the name your father gave me when he had me fashioned from one of his claws. Second of all, Rin isn't dead. Yet. Third, snap out of it. You aren't insane, you're just stupid."  
  
"What? Rin isn't dead?" Sesshoumaru sat up quickly, attempting to gather his senses.  
  
Claw sighed audibly and put her hands on her hips, "Pay attention. First thing first. You aren't insane. You were just confused about how you could love Rin, a human. Added to this was the problem that my brother, Tenseiga, tried his hardest to give you advice. Unfortunately, as you have already deduced, you are not Tenseiga's master. Therefore, my brother sword's words came out in a language you couldn't understand, confusing you further. For instance, when Tenseiga told you to kiss Rin on the ear, you thought he said you should EAT her ear. You have a frightening psyche, Sesshoumaru."  
  
Sesshoumaru blinked, processing this information as a slight wind skipped through the grove. "Then Tenseiga's master is..."  
  
"That is right. After Iemitsu gave him a vision of the destiny of his sons, your father crafted Tenseiga for Rin. He crafted Tetsusaiga for Kagome. He crafted me, Tenzenryoku, for you. And, he crafted Tentamawaru for Inuyasha. This is why Kagome was able to pull Tetsusaiga from your father's grave when neither you nor Inuyasha could. And this is why Rin was able to activate Tenseiga even though she'd never held a sword in her life."  
  
"Four swords?" Sesshoumaru asked.  
  
"Yes. Two made from your father's fangs, two made from his claws. Four swords instead of two. His gifts to you, and to your mates. Rin will wield the sword Tenseiga, holding the power of life, and the power to turn demons to humans. She holds this power because, knowing the pain of being a human, she will be loathe to use power lightly."  
  
"Kagome will eventually wield Tetsusaiga, when your half-brother stops being such an incredible idiot by using it to destroy everything in sight. She has such a kind and fair heart that she will only use its full power in the most dire of situations."  
  
"You will wield me, Tenzenryoku. Because I contain Iemitsu's Charm, I have the power to turn humans into demons. This power is given to you, because, of course, the human would have to be very special indeed to convince you to use this power. But, my true power is the one I demonstrated earlier this evening when I stole your ability to transform. I am a magnet for demon powers, calling them into myself to be used by my master."  
  
"And then there is my sister, Tentamawaru. Inuyasha's sword. No one knows exactly what it can do, only that Inuyasha will use it to save the world from destruction."  
  
Claw snickered at the thought of Inuyasha saving the world before she continued, her voice lowering.  
  
"You unlocked the Charm when you admitted your love for Rin, Sesshoumaru. But, I want you to realize how close you came to losing her. If you ever willingly put her in danger, if you ever hurt her, if you ever through your stubbornness push her away...if you ever do these things again, I swear by my tempered metal, You...Will...Die. I will steal your youkai powers and replace them with the pain of molten metal flowing through your veins. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"  
  
Sesshoumaru nodded, but he hadn't really been listening. Nonetheless, it didn't matter, Claw...Tenzenryoku, would explain it again later. 'Rin is alive. Rin is alive. Rin is alive.' The words timed themselves to his heartbeat.  
  
"Alright, my friend, let's go see your beloved."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sesshoumaru's vision blurred. Something seemed to be burning in his eyes, causing his sight to grow troubled. Reaching up with one hand, he felt at his eyes, trying to discern the problem, and found that his fingers met with a warm wetness. 'Tears? How frivolous. Well, no time to think on that now. Where is Rin?'  
  
Brushing aside his tears, the prone form of Rin swam into view, Tenzenryoku still sticking from her chest. The silver-haired demon lord quickly reached forward and removed the sword, wincing as the blood-coated blade slipped from Rin's body. Without a thought, Sesshoumaru tossed the sword aside and lifted Rin's head and shoulders to place them into his lap.  
  
Sesshoumaru placed his fingers on Rin's forehead to push back the hair which had fallen into her face. Her ebony locks seemed even more silky than he remembered, and sent electric shivers through his fingers. Sesshoumaru stared at the delicate face which lay in his lap. Something was different.  
  
By the outermost corners of each of Rin's eyes lay three silvery dots in a line. In the middle of her forehead was a purple teardrop marking. Carefully, so as not to scratch her with his claw, Sesshoumaru brushed across one of the set of dots.  
  
The taiyoukai felt something flutter rapidly against the ground near his knees. He looked down to discover two sets of metallic silver butterfly wings jutting from Rin's back.  
  
She was a youkai.  
  
"Sesshoumaru-sama, please don't cry," a quiet voice pleaded.  
  
Sesshoumaru looked back at Rin's face. Her eyes had always been beautiful, but now, in the moonlight of the deserted shrine, they seemed magnificent, even radiant.   
  
"Rin. You came back. You came back to this Sesshoumaru."  
  
"Always," Rin whispered, moving her hand to the already rapidly healing wound on her chest. Her other hand lifted upwards, as if she wanted to touch Sesshoumaru's face, but her movement faltered in her weakened state. The demon lord caught her hand and turned it over gently, pressing Rin's palm to his lips. "Rin will follow Sesshoumaru-sama forever. Wherever you go, whomever you become, I will always find you."  
  
"Rin, listen to me," Sesshoumaru's voice became quiet, solemn and deep, "I, Sesshoumaru, do not care if you are a human or a youkai. I do not care. You are the only one who ever cared for this Sesshoumaru. Not for my power, not out of fear, you saw something in me that even this Sesshoumaru did not know existed. Please just let me love you, let me love you forever." Sesshoumaru bent forward and buried his face in Rin's hair,  
  
"I promise, Sesshoumaru-sama. I promise forever."  
  
And that is when, in the shrine of the ancient miko Iemitsu, a butterfly youkai removed her hand from her wounded heart and found the strength to pull the face of her long lost beloved to hers.  
  
They say that there are some kisses that are soft, and some are sweet. Some are full of passion and lust, and some shake the world to its core. Kisses come in many forms, creating wonderful beginnings and sorrowful tear-filled endings. Some kisses encompass so much love that they become legendary, living forever imprinted on the hearts of men.  
  
And sometimes, just sometimes, a kiss can be so powerful that it can unite two souls for eternity.  
  
The end?  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"But, Sesshoumaru-sama?" the butterfly youkai whispered.  
  
"Yes, Rin?"  
  
"You'll have to smile more."  
  
THE END...or rather...the beginning.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
In the epilogue: Yes! Please do look forward to the epilogue, which shall be a fun romp through some of the events which take place afterwards. If I can figure out how, it might even get a bit lime flavored for your enjoyment.  
  
Thank you again to all the wonderful reviewers. Your suggestions and encouragement helped me to write this story. I very much hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. (And I especially hope this last chapter wasn't too long and rambling.)  
  
I thought I would credit the musical inspiration for this story. Sesshoumaru's theme song was Angie Aparo's "Wonderland". Rin's theme song was Bjork's "Human Behavior". Other songs used for inspiration, U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", and They Might Be Giants' "Birdhouse In Your Soul".  
  
Tenzenryoku: I do not know Japanese, so I used an online dictionary. This was as close as I could get to "The Sword of Demon Powers".  
  
Tentamawaru: Again, I do not know Japanese, so this was as close as I could get to "The Sword of Bestowing". 


End file.
